


The Boy in the Attic

by DisposableVillain



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Abusive Parent, Child Abuse, Crossdressing, Cult, Drugs, Emotional Abuse, Gay, Gore, Grandfather, Kids, LGBT, LGBT Character, Lesbian, M/M, Murder, Physical Abuse, Rape, Religion?, Ritual, Struggle, Torture, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, kidnap, mlm, old fic, old story, psychological abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 10:43:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 17
Words: 70,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17896958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisposableVillain/pseuds/DisposableVillain
Summary: Yugi always loved snow. Except when it prevented him from leaving his house. But because of the snow, he saw his new neighbour in the attic through his window. Ever since, they've been texting and calling one another. But why does he never see the boy outside, or anywhere in the house except for the attic?From YuGiOh_WattyAwards:*1st in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Gay Shipping*1st in Best Shipping Couple*1st in Favorite Writer* 2nd in Favourite Cover* 2nd in Favourite Title* 2nd in Favourite Dueling Scene





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Elliot. I'm posting this in 2019 but with the original date I wrote it. It was one of my first long projects and I'm going to revamp it at some point, just not now. Hope you enjoy.

**CW: Abuse/torture**

* * *

Yugi Muto sighed as he stared out of his bedroom window above the Kame Game shop. He loved snow, but when it prevented him from going outside for three days, it irritated him. Especially since it meant that he couldn't visit their new neighbours. However, the storm had let up and he would be able to go to Ryou Bakura's house later for the movie marathon that they had planned to have.

Yugi yawned and stretched, glancing at the house across the road in which their new neighbours now resided. He blinked in surprise.

Someone was looking back at him from the attic window of the bungalow.

Like Yugi, the boy's hair was tri-coloured. But while Yugi had blonde bangs and black roots that were bordered by purplish hair, the other boy's bangs were more of a golden colour and his black roots were bordered by a mixture of red and purple. There were also three streaks of golden hair amidst the black that reminded Yugi of lightning. The boy's hair was spikier than Yugi's own, star-shaped hairstyle. His features were also sharper than Yugi's, and his crimson eyes were narrower than Yugi's large, amethyst orbs.

Yugi waved. The boy seemed to hesitate before waving back.

Yugi grinned and looked around his room before grabbing a marker and a pad of paper. He scrawled a small message that was large enough to read from a distance and held it up to the window.

_Hi; I'm Yugi Muto._

He watched the boy's piercing eyes scan the message. His lookalike went out of sight for a moment before returning with a pad of paper as well. Yugi watched as he wrote a reply and held it up to the window.

**Yami Sennen.**

Yugi smiled.

_Nice to meet you. How old are you?_

**Sixteen.**

Yugi felt his smile grow.

_Cool; you're only a year older than me! :)_

He saw Yami grin.

**So you're fifteen then?**

Yugi nodded, hoping that Yami hadn't thought that he was younger. But with his short size, rounded features and large, childlike eyes, it was very likely.

_Want to play twenty questions? I'm bored._

Yugi watched as Yami read the message and met Yugi's gaze before shrugging. Yugi felt like the older boy's eyes were boring into his soul.

_Okay. Um...What's your favourite food?_

**Curry; I love spicy food. Favourite band?**

_XP I hate them. They always make me feel sick. I like Linkin Park. ^-^ Do you have any siblings?_

Yugi saw Yami roll his eyes at the question.

**I like Linkin Park too, and that's how I feel about sweet foods. Yeah; I've got two psychotic brothers that drive me insane.**

Yugi giggled and was about to reply when Yami glanced over his shoulder and scribbled another message.

**Sorry, but I need to go.**

Yugi's eyes widened.

_Wait, can I have your number? It'd be easier to text you._

Yami hesitated before nodding and writing down his number, holding it up for Yugi to see. When Yugi had inserted the number into his phone, he looked up to find that the blinds in Yami's house had been closed, blocking the attic from sight.

Yugi shrugged and text Yami.

_Hey, Yami. It's Yugi. Here's my number._

He then turned his phone off and went downstairs to help his grandfather in the shop before going to Ryou's.

* * *

He was at Ryou's when he got the text and his phone went off with a loud 'ding!'.

"Who's that?" Ryou asked, looking over Yugi's shoulder.

"Oh, is it your boyfriend?" Malik teased, poking Yugi.

Yugi felt his cheeks burn - even though there was no reason why they should. "I already told you; he's my neighbour!"

The platinum blonde Egyptian snickered. "Doesn't mean he can't be your boyfriend."

Yugi rolled his eyes. "He's not my boyfriend."

"He could be."

"Malik, leave Yugi be," Ryou sighed, cradling a cup of steaming tea.

Malik pouted but left the tri-coloured teen alone. Yugi glanced at his phone.

**Hey, Yugi. How are you?**

_I'm good. I'm just about to watch a movie marathon with my friends._

**I really wish I was there instead of here...**

_Why?_

**The two psychos keep messing with my stuff.**

"No! We are not watching another friggin' horror film, Ryou!"

Yugi looked up to see his two best friends arguing over the film.

"Well we're not watching another romance film," Ryou decided, firm finality in his tone. "They're boring and heteronormative."

"No more horror! You promised!!"

Ryou shrugged. "I saw the horror films as something the three of us could do alone, since the others won't watch them and we don't spend as much time together anymore." He tapped his chin and looked up with a sigh. "I guess I was wrong." Yugi could see Malik's resolve crumbling already. Ryou turned to walk into the kitchen, his tone heavy. "I'll get some snacks. You two decide which film we should watch..." He trudged into the kitchen.

Yugi hid a giggle as he watched Malik's resolve completely shatter. "Ryou, wait!" Ryou paused and glanced back at Malik. "We'll watch _the Conjuring_ with you..."

Even if Yugi didn't see it, he would have been able to hear the large smile in Ryou's voice. "Great! You put the film on and I'll get the snacks."

When Ryou left and Malik turned around, Yugi let out his laughter. "Malik, you cracked like an  _egg_!"

The smile that had appeared when he saw that Ryou was happy again melted off Malik's face as he realised what he had agreed to. "...Ah, dammit..."

Yugi shook his head, still laughing, and glanced at his phone once more.

**In any case, enjoy the marathon.**

Yugi smiled as Ryou returned and Malik turned the film on.

_Thanks, Yami._

* * *

Yami smiled.

**No problem.**

Then he turned his phone off, knowing that Yugi wouldn't reply for a while.

"Who was that?"

Yami looked up to see his younger brother Bakura leaning on the back of the couch that he was sitting on, arms folded.

"Neighbour," Yami replied, stowing his phone away in his pocket.

Bakura raised an eyebrow, a smirk sliding onto his pale features. "Is that so?" He glanced back over his shoulder. "Hey, Marik! Yami's texting our 'neighbour'!"

"Oh really?" The sun-kissed platinum blonde cackled as he sauntered over to his older brothers. "Lemme see!"

"I'm not letting you read my texts," Yami replied in his smooth, baritone voice.

"I'll give you a video of Fluffy running from a puppy," Marik bribed.

"You what?" Bakura yelled, glaring at Marik.

Marik just snickered and produced his phone, flashing Bakura a glimpse of the video. The white-haired boy was in clear sight, ducking behind a couch with a wide-eyed expression as a small dog chased after him, tail wagging.

Yami snorted. It was perfect blackmail material.

"Marik," Bakura growled, his eye twitching. "Delete the video."

"Nope," Marik laughed, his expression gleeful.

"Delete the video or I'll break your camera," Bakura threatened, holding up the camera.

Marik's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

"Believe me, it'd give me great pleasure," Bakura snarled.

Marik swallowed before half holding out the phone. "Trade?"

Bakura nodded and grabbed the phone, giving Marik the camera. He pressed a few buttons and the video was deleted.

Yami shook his head, turning away from Bakura to smirk at Marik. "That camera will be the death of you."

Marik shrugged. "Well it distracted you, didn't it?"

"What?" Yami blinked and looked back at Bakura, who had successfully taken Yami's phone without him noticing.

"There's nothing interesting here," Bakura complained as he swiped through Yami's texts to Yugi.

"Then let's text him ourselves!" Marik laughed.

Yami leapt up, his eyes sparking. "Give me the phone!"

His two brothers glanced at each other before snickering. "Nah," they decided in unison.

Yami lunged forwards, grabbing Bakura by the hem of his blue-and-white striped t-shirt. Bakura just smirked and tossed Yami's phone over to Marik. Marik leapt onto a chair and held it just out of Yami's reach. "Reach, Pharaoh, reach!" He cackled.

Yami growled and tackled him out of the chair, sending them both crashing to the ground.

They didn't seem to notice how loud the crash was on the wooden attic floor. The duo wrestled for the phone for a minute before Marik managed to throw it to Bakura, who caught it just before it would have hit the floor.

Bakura opened the message box again and sent the number to himself and Marik as Yami struggled to his feet again with Marik clinging to his legs to slow him down.

"Bakura," Yami growled, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to text your boyfriend anything he could misinterpret." Bakura rolled his eyes.

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"So he's not a boy who's your friend?" Marik raised an eyebrow.

"What? Well, I… I mean…" Yami's face turned slightly red. "Shut up and give me my phone."

"No can do, Pharaoh!" Marik grabbed the phone from Bakura. Yami lunged for them again.

Bakura managed to dodge the attack, ending up near the door, but Marik yelped and crashed to the floor. Yami smirked in triumph as he took his phone back. "Gotcha."

"Spoil sport," Marik muttered, rubbing his head, which he had skimmed off the wall.

Before Yami could reply, the door was thrown open and the trio froze.

"I thought I was very clear," Aknamkanon Sennen growled, "that you were  _not_ to make noise." He stepped into the attic and silently closed the door behind him.

Bakura, who was closest to him, tried to edge away without being seen.

Aknamkanon growled and grabbed him by the hem of his shirt. Bakura hissed and tried to pry Aknamkanon's hands off of him, his feet dangling a full inch above the ground. "Let… go…" He growled, struggling to breath due to Aknamkanon's tight grip.

Aknamkanon smirked and dropped him. Bakura landed heavily on his feet and Aknamkanon used the opportunity to swing a hard punch at the albino.

Bakura bit back a yell of pain as he was sent flying back, if only because it would make Aknamkanon even angrier. That, and it would make him seem weak. The only reason that he didn't slam into the wall was because Yami managed to catch him.

He brushed his fingers against his cheekbone, wincing. Aknamkanon just calmly straightened himself. "Now…who was it that was making the noise?" He asked.

No one spoke. Marik and Yami glared at him.

Aknamkanon shrugged, spreading his hands. "Either you tell me, or I blame all of you."

"I was." Bakura stood up again, trying to ignore his throbbing cheek. His red-brown eyes were hard. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Bakura, are you nuts?" Marik hissed.

Bakura didn't reply. Aknamkanon looked at him again. "Follow me."

Bakura didn't move. "What are you going to do about it?" His voice was monotonous as he repeated the question.

Aknamkanon smirked. "Either you follow me and find out, or you all follow me."

Bakura scowled but took a step forward. Yami caught his wrist, forcing Bakura to turn to look at him. He met his gaze, as though saying 'you don't have to do this'.

Bakura held his gaze for a minute before pulling his wrist free and leaving the attic with Aknamkanon.

The lock clicked into place once more and silence filled the air. Even if Marik and Yami wanted to, they wouldn't have been able to hear what was going on.

The basement that Bakura was walking towards was soundproof.

* * *

Halfway through the film, Yugi noticed that Ryou was distracted. This wouldn't be unusual for the albino. Had it not been a horror film that Ryou himself had picked out.

The English boy was staring at the wall above the television with his rabbit Lily in his lap, one hand resting on the bunny's back, one hand propping up his chin.

Yugi frowned slightly. "Hey, Ryou, could you make me a cup of tea?"

"Hm?" Ryou blinked and looked over at Yugi before smiling. "Sure." He stood up and walked into the kitchen with Yugi behind him.

"Do you want me to pause it?" Malik called.

"No; we can hear it in here," Yugi responded. Then he turned to Ryou. "What's going on?"

Ryou blinked, his hazel eyes wide. "What do you mean?"

"You're so distracted today," Yugi replied.

Ryou looked down. "Sorry for worrying you. I'm fine." Ryou shrugged and turned towards the kettle. "It just… turns out that my parents aren't coming for Christmas after all."

Yugi's eyes widened. Ryou's parents had divorced when he was very young, his father remaining in England while his mother brought him to Japan. His mother was rarely around, often having to go on business meetings according to Ryou. And he never did seem very happy when she came home.

But Christmas was always one of the few times that she made an effort to come home that Ryou seemed happy to see her. And with his father promising to visit for Christmas as well, Ryou had been ecstatic about the upcoming holiday.

He had decorated the entire house, which was far too big for one person to live in alone, and even planned out the dinner with the help of Joey Wheeler.

And it was all for naught.

"Ryou… I…" Yugi paused, unsure of what to say.

"Here's your tea," Ryou murmured, handing Yugi a mug of the steaming liquid.

Yugi set the mug down on the pristine marble counter and wrapped his arms around Ryou in a comforting hug.

Ryou hesitated before returning the hug and they separated. "Thanks, Yugi."

"It's nothing," Yugi replied, although feeling as though he hadn't done much to help.

Ryou smiled as Yugi picked up the mug again. "Come on; let's go back inside."

Yugi nodded and they returned to the sitting room to watch the end of the film.

* * *

"I can't believe we didn't hear him come back," Marik growled, resisting the urge to stab one of the cushions on the moth-eaten couch.

Yami didn't respond.

"I mean, we should know better by now!"

Yami didn't respond.

"And now Bakura's paying the price…"

Yami didn't respond.

"Would you say something already?" Marik snapped, glaring at Yami.

Yami glanced over at him. "What do you want me to say? All you're doing is rambling about things that we can't change at this stage."

"Anything!" Marik threw his hands in the air. "Anything is better than just talking to myself with you ignoring me!"

"You know talking to yourself is the first sign of madness, right?"

Marik rolled his eyes. "Please, we all know I'm crazy." By the end of his sentence, he was wearing a proud smirk on his face.

Yami didn't respond.

"Oh, come on," Marik groaned, flopping down on his mattress.

Yami sighed, looking out of the window and into Yugi's room. It was empty.  _He must still be at that movie marathon he mentioned._

Marik sat up Indian style on his mattress and followed Yami's gaze. "Is that where the shrimp lives?"

"He's not a shrimp."

"He could be," Marik replied.

"He's not that short." Yami glanced at the Egyptian out of the corner of his eye.

"But you admit that he  _is_ short?" Marik's triumphant smirk returned.

Yami sighed. "You're unbelievable…"

"Love you too, Pharaoh." Suddenly Marik's eyes brightened. "Hey, maybe you could ask Yugi for help!"

Yami turned towards him, his eyes devoid of emotion. "We tried that before."

"Yeah, but this is in the city; not the country!" Marik shot back, jumping off his bed and running to the small, rickety excuse for a table in the attic. "He wouldn't be able to hurt Yugi!"

"Marik," Yami cut off the excited Egyptian. "He still has the gun." Marik froze in the middle of turning on his phone. "We can't afford to let innocent people get hurt because of us again," Yami continued. "It would be-"

"Selfish, right?" Marik's voice sounded hoarse. He looked back at Yami, his lavender eyes pained. "Why can't we be selfish every once in a while, eh?" He shrugged. "Everyone is selfish sometimes. Why can't we be selfish now?"

Yami held his gaze. "Because if we are selfish now, it won't just be our lives in danger anymore. It would be the same as last time."

Marik's movements were slow as he put the phone back on the table. He turned and walked back over to the mattress that he slept. As he passed Yami, he whispered, "What happened to Heba and Atemu was not our fault. They were the ones that chose to get involved."

Yami felt anger begin to bubble in his system, but he forced it away with a calm wave of self-control. "We were the ones that got them involved."

"It was their choice to help us." Marik lay back on his mattress, arms behind his head, legs crossed.

Once again, Yami chose not to respond.

Silence filled the room until the sounds of two pairs of footsteps reached their ears, one pair heavy and firm, the other light and uneven.

Yami and Marik tensed and Marik lay down properly, pretending to be asleep while Yami remained where he was.

The door was unlocked and Bakura was thrown in. Aknamkanon smirked as he watched the albino stumble and fall.

He glanced at the sleeping Marik and scoffed before turning to Yami. "Next time, don't disobey me."

He left the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Instantly, Yami and Marik ran over to Bakura. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Bakura snapped, forcing himself into a standing position. Bruises, welts and gashes covered his pale skin and his jean jacket was torn in multiple places. Through the tears, they could see blood staining Bakura's t-shirt.

"Bakura, you're obviously not," Marik replied, his rarely-seen serious side appearing.

"If I say that I'm fine, then I mean it!" Bakura growled, shoving Marik back when the younger boy tried to help him. "And I don't need your help!"

He whipped around and stormed into the small bathroom that Aknamkanon had fitted into the attic. The door clicked shut and inside the bathroom, Bakura let out a slow breath. He leaned over the sink, clenching the sides so hard that his knuckles turned whiter than before.

His back stung, his face throbbed and his cuts burned. He ran the water and splashed it over his face before taking a washcloth, wetting it and running it over the injuries. He winced at the sting that it brought, but he continued to clean the wounds on his face and arms.

Then he sighed and pulled off his jacket and shirt, glancing at his back in the mirror. He ground his teeth together at the sight of the bloody whip marks.

He hastily washed them, although not able to reach some of them due to the fact that they were on his back. Then he pulled back on his shirt, threw his jacket into the bin and walked out of the bathroom again.

He ignored the gazes of his brothers as he lay down on his mattress and stared at the ceiling. Until Marik shattered the peace. "Do you think we'll ever get out of here?" It was one of the few times that Bakura had heard him sound vulnerable.

"...Eventually..." Yami replied, gazing out of the window at Ra knows what.

Bakura snorted and turned on his side, closing his eyes. "Don't lie, Yami."

* * *

It was late when Yugi got home. So late that Solomon Muto had given up on waiting up for him and went to bed an hour previously.

Yugi felt a pang of guilt, but it was Solomon that had insisted he go out today. Sighing as exhaustion crept up on him, he trudged up to his bedroom, checking his phone.

There was one new message from Yami. He smiled softly.

**Hey, Yugi.** **How was the marathon?**

_It was good. We ended up watching a bunch of horror films though. But Malik managed to convince Ryou to watch a romance. I don't think Malik will sleep for a week._

**That sucks. Well, the romance part anyway. The horror sounds good.**

Yugi couldn't help but laugh.

_I actually liked the romance more than the horror._

**Why? They're mindless films with the same basic plots.**

_Well horrors are mindless films with the same basic jump-scares and bad guys. No plot line._

It was a full minute before Yugi's phone let out the 'ding!' noise that notified him about a text.

**That's a lie! One of these days, you need to watch Insidious and Oculus! They have brilliant plots and Insidious has a few jump scares, but they don't really scare you unless you understand the plots, and they're pretty complex.**

Yugi hesitated before replying.

_I'll think about it. Hey, maybe we could go together!_

When he didn't get a response after five minutes, Yugi assumed that Yami had fallen asleep. Glancing at his clock, Yugi felt his eyes widen. "No wonder...it's nearly two am..."

He yawned, stretched and pulled on his blue pyjamas with stars on them. Growing too small for him? No. Childish? Yes. But warm? Definitely.

He curled up under his blankets and was asleep in a matter of minutes. He didn't wake up when his phone released a final 'ding!', announcing a text from Yami, before remaining silent.

**That sounds good, Aibou.**


	2. Chapter 2

**CW: Dissociation, physical/emotional abuse, manipulation, mentions of attempted murder**

* * *

When Yugi woke up the next morning, the first thing that he did was check his phone for texts. To his delight, he found that he had received two. The first was from Yami, responding to his last message with a maybe. Yugi felt heat rise to his cheeks when he saw what Yami had called him.

"Aibou," he whispered, a small smile growing on his face. Then he opened the second text, which was from Joey Wheeler.

**_Heya, Yug! Anything new on the Christmas party for tomorrow?_ **

Yugi paused. Every year, he and his friends celebrated Christmas together by sleeping over at someone's house on Christmas eve and then returning to celebrate with their families the next day.

And every year, someone had to plan the party. Usually it went in a circle, going from Malik, to Tea, to Joey, to Serenity, to Ryou, to Tristan, and finally to Yugi. And since Tristan had organised for them to celebrate Christmas at the hospital with Serenity after her eye operation last year, it was Yugi's turn.

Another smile formed on his face.

_I think so,  Joey. You know how Ryou said that his dad would be visiting him for Christmas?_

_**Yeah, what about it?** _

_He can't make it, so Ryou would be all alone._

**_Would be?_ **

Yugi waited for Joey to realise what he was hinting at. Sure enough, a few minutes later, Joey sent another text.

**_Ah, I see what you're getting at! So we surprise him by throwing the party at his place?_ **

Yugi groaned.

_No; no surprises! You know Ryou hates them._

_**...** _

_Joey... please tell me you didn't already text Malik..._

Just after he sent the text to Joey, he got a text from the blonde-haired Egyptian.

**Hey, so what's going on with the surprise party at Ryou's tomorrow?**

**-TombKeeper-**

Yugi groaned, running a hand through his already-messy hair.

_No! No, Malik! There's no surprise party! We're going to tell him about it when we see him today!_

**#Spoilsport XP**

**-TombKeeper-**

_Would you stop using hashtags and signing your texts like that?_

**#-TombKeeper-**

**-TombKeeper-**

Yugi sighed and decided not to respond to the text.

* * *

Yami was a late riser, but midday was _late,_ even for him.

He groaned and sat up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"It's about time," Marik sighed from where he was standing beside him. "If you didn't wake up in ten minutes, we were going to wake you up ourselves."

Seeing the glass of water in Marik's hand, Yami had a feeling that he would have been woken up before the ten minutes were up.

He sighed, narrowing his eyes. "Ten minutes, hm?" Marik nodded. "So you weren't going to throw that water over me in about a minute?"

Marik blinked. "...No..."

Yami shook his head. "You really are terrible at lying."

"I'm not lying!" Yami raised an eyebrow. Marik hesitated. "... It would have been two minutes."

Yami shook his head, trying to hide a small chuckle as he threw off the blanket and stood up. He soon found Bakura just sitting on the couch, staring out of the window with his arms folded.

"He's been like that all morning," Marik muttered. "He didn't even react when I showed him the video I had of his first time on a roller coaster."

Yami glanced over at his younger brother incredulously. "Really?"

"I'm serious!" Marik hissed, showing Yami a bit of the video. "He didn't even make me delete it."

Yami frowned, looking back at Bakura. He walked over to the albino and snapped his fingers in front of his dried-blood-coloured eyes. Bakura blinked but didn't react otherwise.

Yami sighed, closing his eyes. _Not again..._ He sat beside Bakura and put a hand on his shoulder.

Bakura flinched and glanced over at him, eyes cold. "What do you want?" His tone was bland, dead even.

"Are you okay?" Yami asked, his own tone clear and slow.

Bakura looked back out the window. "Yeah. Fine."

Yami kept his gaze on his brother. "You and I both know that's not true."

Bakura didn't respond. Marik leaned against the back of the couch, his head between Yami and Bakura's shoulders. "You can tell us, Baku."

Bakura glanced at them out of the corner of his eyes before shaking his head. "You don't want to know."

Yami heard Marik swallow. The latter clenched a fist. "I'm going to kill him."

Yami chuckled coldly. "Didn't you already try that last night?"

Marik blinked in surprise and looked over at Yami. "You knew about that?"

"Of course we did," Bakura snapped. "Why do you think he's still alive?"

Marik's lavender eyes went round. "You told him?" His voice was barely a whisper.

Then the door crashed open. "Yes, they did," Aknamkanon told him. "Just now."

Marik gulped and Bakura seemed to shrink into himself a bit, but if he did, it was unnoticeable.

Yami stepped between Marik and Aknamkanon.

"Step aside, Yami," Aknamkanon ordered. 

"No," Yami replied, his voice neutral. "Marik did nothing wrong."

"He tried to kill his own father," Aknamkanon pointed out, his tone courcing. 

"You're not my father!" Marik yelled, stepping out from behind Yami, despite the look that the older boy gave him. 

Aknamkanon raised a brow. "It seems you're still quite disrespectful."

"I'm respectful to those who deserve respect!" Marik growled. His eyes were narrow slits of lavender. "Not to you."

Aknamkanon tutted. "I think I still need to teach you some manners." Marik was silent as he glared at Aknamkanon. Aknamkanon took another step towards him. Yami stepped between them again.

"Yami," Bakura muttered, "stop."

Yami glanced at the albino with wide eyes. Bakura's eyes were closed. "It seems as though your brother finally learnt his lesson," Aknamkanon purred with a smirk.

Yami waited for Bakura to stand up and yell at Aknamkanon. Or try to protect Marik. He did neither.

Yami glared at Aknamkanon. “What did you do to him?”

“That is none of your concern,” Aknamkanon replied with a smirk. “Now I have some business to attend to with Marik.”

Marik swallowed and stepped out from behind Yami. “What do you want?”

“I just want to teach you a lesson,” Aknamkanon explained, “so that you don’t attempt to kill me a third time.”

 _Wait, a_ third _time?_ Yami’s eyes widened and he glanced at his brother.

Marik’s head was lowered. His tanned face was paler than usual and Yami could hear slight clinks as the golden shackles around his wrists shook slightly with his trembling hands.

“You don’t have to go,” Yami told him.

Marik just walked over to Aknamkanon without speaking, his head still lowered.

“Good boy,” Aknamkanon sneered before grabbing Marik’s wrist and yanking him out of the attic.

The door slammed shut behind them.

Yami rounded on Bakura an instant later. “What the hell?” He growled. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“I did,” Bakura replied. “I told you to stop.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Yami shot back.

Bakura took his time in standing up. “I know what you meant,” he said. “And I didn’t say anything because it was Marik's fault. Not mine."

Yami stared at Bakura before his eyes narrowed. “What happened to you?”

Bakura’s cold eyes met Yami’s angry gaze. “He happened. He happened to Marik as well. You’re the only one that isn’t suffering because of him!” The albino’s voice rose to a yell and he clenched his fists.

Yami’s eyes went from narrow to wide. “Do you really think that?”

Bakura snorted. “I know it. And so does Marik.” He turned his back on Yami. “And just so you know, I won’t be covering for you again like I did yesterday.”

“You don’t have to cover for us!” Yami roared in response, anger flooding him again. “But not telling him what we do isn’t covering for us!”

“I didn’t tell him anything,” Bakura snapped. “You and Marik did. Do you really think I’d tell him Marik tried to poison and shoot him?” Yami was silent. “I didn’t think so. It wasn’t my fault he was there. It was Marik’s fault for not hearing him.”

* * *

Marik was thrown into a wall as Aknamkanon stopped in front of the basement door. “You’re in a lot of trouble, Marik,” he said as he unlocked the steel door.

Marik tried to back away but Aknamkanon caught his arm and pulled him down into the basement, slamming the door shut behind them. “What do you want?” Marik hissed.

“To teach you a lesson,” Aknamkanon replied, pulling Marik’s hands behind his back as they reached the middle of the basement, where a recliner was standing. He tied Marik’s hands behind his back with a rough piece of rope. Marik squirmed, trying to get loose, his teeth gritted. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Aknamkanon shoved him and he tripped backwards, landing in the recliner. Disorientated, he couldn’t react as Aknamkanon tied his torso to the chair with a thicker piece of rope so that he couldn’t sit up.

He pulled the recliner over to the hose he had installed. Marik tensed, wondering what was going to happen. Aknamkanon turned the tap slightly so the water came out of the hose in slow drips. Then he attached the hose to the wall using several pieces of duct tape.

The water began landing on Marik’s forehead rather than the ground. Marik chuckled, “You’re losing your touch.”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” Aknamkanon replied in the same, monotonous tone as he leaned against the wall with folded arms. “Just wait for a while and we’ll see what you think of my methods then.”

Then he stood up and left the basement. Marik frowned when he heard the door slam shut. _What?_

* * *

Ryou trudged towards the park, where he and the others had agreed to meet up to go ice skating. _He can’t make it… and mom can’t either…_

Under normal circumstances, Ryou wouldn’t mind if his mother wasn’t home. But it was _Christmas._

Seeing the gang come into his vision, Ryou forced his usual, polite smile onto his face. _At least I’ll be able to hang out with them at the party tomorrow._

“Ryou!”

Ryou yelped and fell backward as his vision became filled with nothing but platinum blonde hair. “Malik!”

“You’re finally here!” Malik cheered, standing up again.

Ryou sighed, shaking his head. “Is there even any point in asking why you glomped me?”

“Probably not,” Malik admitted, causing Ryou to chuckle. “Here.” He offered down a hand to help Ryou up.

Ryou took it with a smile as the rest of the gang ran over to him.

“Malik, we told you not to do that!” Tea scolded, frowning at Malik, who rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. “And where the heck is your coat?”

“I’m not cold.” Malik shrugged. Ryou looked at Malik’s appearance and noted that his Egyptian friend was wearing nothing but a pair of black cargo pants, a lavender, sleeveless hoodie that was a size too small for him and showed part of his stomach, a white tank top that was also too small for him, and the golden shackles around his wrists.

“How can you not be?” Ryou muttered, shivering even in his thick, furry winter coat that blended in with his fluffy hair.

“Easy,” Malik replied, stretching his arms behind his head. “It’s warm out.”

“Are you kidding me?” Joey, Tea and Tristan all yelled, causing Malik to jump and almost fall back.

“I’m with Malik; it’s not that cold,” Yugi agreed, wearing his usual black leather attire.

Ryou sighed, shaking his head. “I really wonder about you two sometimes…”

“Guys, are we going ice skating or what?” Serenity asked, arms folded and an eyebrow raised. She was also decked out in winter gear, but even still, Ryou wasn’t sure how she wasn’t cold considering how her pink jacket was half as thin as his own coat.

“Yeah, sure, Serenity,” Tea sighed, grabbing Malik by the ear and pulling him along. “Let’s go.”

“Hey, lemme go, lemme go, lemme go!” Malik yelled, forced to stumble after her.

“It’s a pity that Kaiba and Mokuba couldn’t make it,” Yugi commented, a pensive look on his face. “They always seem to be busy nowadays.”

“Actually, I was talking to Kaiba yesterday,” Joey countered as they followed Malik and the girls towards the ice rink. “He should be coming with Mokuba in about an hour.  Just in time for-“

Tristan cut him off by clapping a hand over his mouth, muffling the end of the sentence.

Joey yelled in indignation and pulled away, glaring at Tristan. Ryou frowned. “Just in time for what?”

“Never mind that,” Yugi cut in, eager to avoid the subject. “Since when have you been talking to Kaiba?”

“Since school ended last week,” Joey replied with a shrug. “We exchanged emails on the last day.” The three boys stared at him in shock. His cheeks began to turn red. “What?”

“Don’t you and Kaiba argue over everything?” Yugi asked in shock.

“Yeah, so?”

“So why are you emailing him?” Ryou asked, shaking his head.

“Do you have a crush on him or something?” Tristan laughed.

Joey’s eyes widened and he glared at Tristan. “What was that?” Before Tristan could reply, Joey turned to Yugi. “C’mon, Yug, you know I don’t like moneybags like that! Tell him!”

Yugi sighed, finding it impossible to ignore the large, pleading brown eyes in front of him. “Tristan, leave Joey alone.” He smiled and began running towards the rink. “Now come on, before the others start without us!”

* * *

Marik groaned. His head pounded with every drop of water that landed on it. His vision was blurry, he couldn’t think straight and he couldn’t tell whether he was looking at the roof or the floor anymore.

“So.” Aknamkanon leaned over him. “Are you ready to talk?”

Marik groaned again. “What about?”

“I want to know how you tried to kill me,” Aknamkanon said, “and how you managed to almost do it.”

Marik swallowed, his lips dry. “Got a gun from Bandit Keith…waited by the door… only reason I didn’t shoot you was ‘cause Yami stopped me…”

“Your dear _brother_ , eh?” Aknamkanon raised an eyebrow. “Go on.” Marik shook his head. Aknamkanon turned the tap a little and the water dripped out faster. It felt like a weight was hitting Marik’s head with every drip. “Talk or it’ll just get more painful.”

Marik swallowed again. “Found some sleeping pills in the bathroom one day and I tried to sneak a bunch into your food… and then later on I tried to stab you in your sleep…”

Aknamkanon nodded. “And why did neither of these attempts work?”

“I dropped the pills and you were coming so I didn’t have time to put them into your food…and Bakura heard me in time to stop me,” Marik said in little over a whisper.

“Excellent.” Aknamkanon turned the water on full blast. Marik yelled in pain and began squirming, unable to breathe with the water cascading over his nose and mouth constantly.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you,” Aknamkanon purred as he watched the platinum blonde struggle. “This is just to teach you not to try to kill me again.” He leaned close to Marik’s ear as the latter’s struggles began to grow more desperate. “Because it won’t work. And the next time you do, I really will kill you.”

Then he turned off the tap, leaving Marik gasping for breath. A cloudy fog covered Marik’s gaze and he was vaguely aware of being untied and hauled out of the seat. The trip back up to the attic was hazy for him. All he remembered was tripping over his own feet more times than he could count.

Then the door to the attic was opened and he was shoved in, skidding on his knees.

He didn’t seem to notice Yami walking over to make sure that he was alright. He didn’t seem to notice that Bakura didn’t even glance in his direction.

His wild hair was now sopping wet, along with his black t-shirt and brown trousers.

“Marik.” Yami put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Marik glanced up at him, blinking. “What?”

“I said are you alright?” Yami repeated in a slow, clear tone.

Marik shook his head to rid his ears of the buzzing noise that filled them. “Yeah, fine,” he replied. He staggered to his feet, ignoring Yami’s offer of help, and made his way to the bathroom to dry off.

His head continued to pound as he towel-dried his hair and he glanced up at the mirror. His tan skin was pale, his eyes were bloodshot and he had a feverish blush on his cheeks. “Great,” he sighed before pulling off his black tank top and leaving it on the radiator to dry. He walked back out to the main room in the attic and flopped down onto his mattress.

“Marik-“ Yami began.

“Don’t,” Marik mumbled, not looking at him. No one spoke again after that.

* * *

“Okay, will someone please tell me what’s going on now?” Ryou asked. Soon after Kaiba and Mokuba had arrived, the group had split up. Yugi and Malik had stayed with him, Tea had gone off with Mokuba, Tristan with Serenity and Joey and Kaiba had started arguing. Again.

But then they had all gathered together again for lunch and continued to throw secretive glances at him.

Malik grinned his usual, hyperactive grin and looked over at Yugi, ignoring Ryou’s question. “So where are we having the party this year, Yugi?”

Yugi smiled and glanced over at Ryou. “Well, I was thinking we could have it at Ryou’s house. If he doesn’t mind.”

Ryou’s eyes widened and he stared at Yugi in momentary shock. “What?”

“Well your parents aren’t going to be home, and we don’t want you to have to spend Christmas alone,” Yugi explained only to be cut off by Joey.

“So we’re throwing the party at your place!”

“He didn’t agree to it yet, mutt,” Kaiba sighed from his place beside Joey.

A vein throbbed on Joey’s head and he glared at Kaiba. “What’d you just call me?”

“Mutt,” Kaiba repeated, glaring right back at Joey.

"I'm not a friggin' mutt, you jerk!" Joey yelled, slamming his hands down on the table.

"You sure look like a dog now," Kaiba growled. "And a disobedient one at that."

"Why you-!"

"Guys, would you stop arguing?" Tristan sighed, his head in his hands. "You're giving me a headache."

The two glared at each other once more before turning away. "What Joey meant to say was that if you want to throw the party at your house, we'd all agree to it," Serenity said with a smile.

Ryou felt tears spring to his eyes. "Guys..."

"Don't you start crying because if you do, then I will too!" Mokuba laughed, looking as far from crying as could be.

Ryou smiled and wiped his eyes dry. "That sounds brilliant. Thanks, guys."

Everyone in the group either nodded or grinned at him before they returned to their conversations.

* * *

Later that night, Yugi checked his phone for any new messages. He found that he had received one from Yami a couple of minutes previously.

**How was your day?**

Yugi smiled and replied to the text.

_It was good; I went ice skating with a couple of friends. How was yours?_

_It took Yami a few minutes to reply._

**_Not great; I had to spend it with my brothers._ **

_Why didn’t you just go outside?_

Again, it was a few minutes before Yugi received Yami’s response.

**_Can’t; grounded._ **

_That sucks :(_

**_No kidding._ **

Yugi sighed and was about to reply when he saw a small icon at the top of his screen. He shrugged before pressing it, curious to see what would happen if he did.

It flashed green and Yami’s name and number appeared on screen, causing him to freeze.

 _No, I don’t want to call him!_ Yugi thought, his mind jumbled up and frantic. Before he could hang up, Yami answered the call.

“Hello?” Yami's voice was deep, baritone even.

 _It suits him,_ Yugi realised. He swallowed. “Um… hi, Yami.”

There was a pause. “Yugi?” Yami’s voice had a confused tint to it.

“Yep,” Yugi replied with a nervous laugh.

Another pause. “Let me guess… you accidentally called me?”

Yugi could almost hear the smirk in his voice. “How did you-”

“You told me yesterday that you were still trying to work out everything on your phone,” Yami replied, “and you sounded embarrassed when I picked up.”

Yugi sighed. “Sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it, Aibou,” Yami chuckled.

Yugi felt his heart leap. “Aibou?”

“Did I say that out loud?” This time, it was Yami that sounded embarrassed.

“Yeah; you also called me that before when we were texting.” Yugi tilted his head, even though he knew Yami couldn’t see him. “What does it mean?”

“It means partner,” Yami replied, still sounding embarrassed.

Yugi smiled softly. “That’s so cool! Now I just need to think of a nickname for you!”

“There’s no need-”

“How about…Mou Hitori no Boku?” Yugi suggested. “It means ‘my other self’ and we seem to like a lot of the same things so it’s kind of like we’re completing each other.” Yami was silent for a moment. “Never mind; I’ll think of a better one.”

“No, I like it,” Yami said, cutting Yugi off. A brilliant smile appeared on Yugi’s face but before he could say anything, he heard muffled voices on Yami’s end of the line. Then Yami returned, sounding a bit panicked. “Sorry, Yugi, I need to go.”

“That’s fine,” Yugi assured him. “Talk to you tomorrow?”

There was a small pause. “Sure. Night, Aibou.”

Yugi smiled. “Night, Mou Hitori no Boku.”

Then the dial tone sounded in Yugi’s ear. Yami was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**CW: Waterboarding, verbal/physical abuse, drugs, attempted force used to make someone take drugs, mention of murder**

* * *

Yami hung up as Bakura looked over at him. “Was that the shrimp?”

“He’s not that short,” Yami sighed.

“But you admit that he is short?” Marik smirked.

Yami frowned in mock-confusion. “You know I can’t help but think we’ve had this conversation before…”

Marik just rolled his eyes. “I still think we should ask him for help.”

“We’ve been through this,” Yami snapped, surprising his younger brother. “We are not asking him for help!”

“Why? You worried you boyfriend will get hurt?” Bakura asked with a smirk.

“For the last time, he’s not my boyfriend!”

“You wish he was though.”

Yami growled. “That’s not the point. We are not putting Yugi in danger.”

“But we wouldn’t be!” Marik protested. “We could just tell him to call the police, or… or… unlock the door while he’s out!”

“Like we did with Heba and Atemu?” Yami asked. Marik fell silent.

“I don’t think that’s a bad idea,” Bakura said.

Marik looked over at him and Yami’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Things are different now,” Bakura stated. “We’re in the city. The police station is a ten minute drive away, at most. We can just wait until he goes out, get the shrimp to unlock us and worst comes to worst, we can call the police.”

“Worst comes to worst?” Yami raised an eyebrow. “Bakura, worst comes to worst, what happened to Atemu and Heba happens all over again!”

“But it won’t!” Marik tried.

“And if it does?” Yami snapped. “Are you two really so eager to have two more deaths on your heads?”

Marik fell silent. Bakura on the other hand, stood up. “I’m really getting sick of you, _Pharaoh!_ ” Bakura spat. “Atemu and Heba were a thing of the past and there was nothing we could do about it.”

“Nothing we could do?” Yami yelled. “Are you deluded?”

“It was their choice _and_ their mistake to help us!” Bakura snarled.

“You were the one that persuaded them to help!” Yami yelled.

“Don’t act like you weren’t in the wrong!” Bakura glared at him. “Who was the one to ask them in the first place? Who was the one that swore they heard _him_ leave? Who was the one that promised _he_ didn’t have a weapon?”

“Shut up!” Yami clenched his fists, his crimson eyes sparking. “I was also the one that saw them die! As I recall, you ran!”

Bakura lunged at Yami, bowling him over. “What would you know?” He roared. He threw several punches at Yami, who continued to dodge. “You have no idea why I ran, do you?”

“Because you were a coward!” Yami pushed Bakura back, flipping their positions so that now it was Bakura that was dodging Yami’s punches. “You never could handle getting hurt!”

Bakura twisted his head, causing Yami’s fist to hit the ground. He kicked Yami off him. “If that’s true, why did I take the punishment for you and Marik two days ago? Or every other time?”

Yami landed on his back, caught off guard by the kick. “I don’t know, but I didn’t know why you ran either!”

“Guys, knock it off!” Marik hissed, stepping between them before either could attack again. “He’s still-” They all froze at the sound of heavy footsteps walking towards the door. “-Here…”

They scrambled back as the door slammed open. “You know,” Aknamkanon growled, “I’m beginning to wonder if I need to up my punishments a notch. None of you seem to be learning your lesson.”

Yami heard Marik gulp. Bakura didn’t have any noticeable reaction.

“So who was it this time?” His tone betrayed boredom, but there was a spark of sadistic anticipation in his eyes. “Bakura?” Bakura didn’t react. “Maybe Marik?” Marik looked down. “Or…you.” Yami refused to look away.

A moment of pure silence passed. Aknamkanon raised an eyebrow. “Well somebody had to make that crash.”

Yami narrowed his eyes. “I tripped.”

Aknamkanon looked over at him. “Oh really? Then what was the yelling about?”

“I…” Yami hesitated. “…I was yelling in pain.”

“In pain?” Aknamkanon smirked. “There’ll be a lot more yelling from you before the day is out then, won’t there?” He reached out and grabbed Yami’s wrist.

Yami tried to pull himself free, but Aknamkanon was stronger than all of his sons and had no trouble pulling the sixteen year old out of the room.

For a few minutes after the two had left, neither Marik nor Bakura moved. “Will he be okay?” Marik asked, breaking the silence.

Bakura snorted, folding his arms. “He’ll be fine. _Father_ always goes easy on him.” He spat the word ‘father’ with venom. “You know he does. Yami told you himself.” Despite the attempted reassurance, Marik still seemed worried. “Besides, now that he’s gone, we can ask someone for help.”

Marik looked over at him as Bakura sat on the couch. “…What if it does end up the same way?”

Bakura met his gaze. “It won’t.”

“Are you sure?” There was a serious tone in Marik’s voice that was often absent.

Bakura looked away.

* * *

Yugi checked his phone for what felt like the fiftieth time that hour. Yami still hadn’t responded to his texts. He bit his lip, worried about his neighbour.

“Yugi!” Solomon Mutou called. “Don’t you need to go to Ryou’s house? It’s almost six!”

Yugi looked at the clock on his phone, sighed and ran downstairs. “Right. See you tomorrow, Grandpa.” He pulled on his shoes, picked up his overnight bag and walked out of the Kame Game shop.

At every intersection, zebra-crossing and block, he checked his phone. Still no texts from Yami.

When he felt his phone vibrate, Yugi pulled it out of his pocket so fast that it almost went flying out of his hands. Somehow he managed to keep his grip on it and with frantic movements, he unlocked his phone.

Only to find that it was Malik texting him to find out where he was.

He groaned, hitting his head off the nearest wall. “Ow…” He rubbed his forehead. “Okay, that wasn’t a smart idea…”

He pocketed his phone and trudged the last four blocks to Ryou’s house. When he pushed open the door, loud Christmas music assaulted him, along with the sounds of Malik’s maniacal laughter, Joey and Seto’s argument and everyone else’s general laughter and conversation.

“Yugi!” Yugi was almost knocked over as Malik glomped him, camera in hand. “You’re here!”

“Yeah; sorry I’m late,” Yugi apologised, trying to unwrap Malik’s arms from around his neck. “Grandpa needed help at the shop.”

“At least you’re here now,” Ryou said with a smile, helping Yugi to free himself.

“Come on; we’re just about to start exchanging presents!” Malik cheered, running back into the living room and crashing through one of Joey and Seto’s arguments.

Yugi and Ryou shared a glance before sighing and following the hyperactive blonde into the living room. “Who gave him sugar?” Tristan sighed.

“I think he snagged one of my cookies when no one was looking,” Anzu sighed as Malik grabbed one of the presents and unwrapped it without looking at the tag.

And thus he ended up with a fluffy white bear dressed as a ballerina. “I love it!” He squeezed it tightly to his chest.

Mokuba gave him an odd look. “Uh…Malik? I got that for Anzu…”

Malik looked at the bear. Then at Mokuba. Then at the bear again. Then at Anzu. Then at the bear again. Anzu laughed. “You can keep it, Malik.”

Malik’s lavender eyes lit up. “Really?”

“As long as you don’t glomp me!” Anzu added with haste.

Malik nodded in agreement and continued to hug the bear he had received. Mokuba sweatdropped.

“Let’s open the rest before he steals them,” Tristan muttered. Everyone nodded in agreement and lunged for the rest of the presents before Malik could reach for another one.

* * *

Yami glanced over his shoulder, trying to find the knot in the rope that was keeping his hands tied behind his back. He strained his fingers, trying to reach for it, but it was in vain.

Gritting his teeth, he looked across the basement, where Aknamkanon was filling the bath with water.

Yami narrowed his eyes. _What’s he planning?_

As though hearing his thoughts, Aknamkanon smirked at Yami before turning off the tap.

“Time for you to learn your lesson.” He strode over to Yami, grabbed him by one arm and dragged him over to the bath, forcing him to sit on the stool. Yami refused to look at the bathtub of water, instead glaring at Aknamkanon. “So disrespectful,” Aknamkanon sighed before gripping Yami’s head and forcing him into the water.

Not having been able to take a breath, Yami struggled, trying to get above the water to get the oxygen he needed to survive.

Blood pounded in his ears. His head felt as though it were imploding. His struggles grew more desperate. Just as he was about to give in, Aknamkanon pulled him out of the water.

Gasping for breath, Yami collapsed back onto the stool, his body shaking. Aknamkanon smirked at him. “It’s your own fault, Yami.”

Yami glared at him again, his breath still coming in gasps. Aknamkanon raised an eyebrow and clicked his tongue. “It seems as though you still haven’t learned your lesson.”

This time, prepared for what was coming, Yami drew in a deep breath as Aknamkanon shoved him underwater again.

His cheeks were puffed out as he struggled to contain the oxygen he had absorbed. He squirmed and thrashed to get free. He squeezed his eyes shut. He tried to focus on something else as his oxygen began to run out.

He let out slow puffs of breath to lengthen the time he could go. His struggles grew desperate again.

Once again, Aknamkanon pulled him out of the water just before he would have given in to the darkness threatening to claim him.

“You really are a glutton for punishment, aren’t you?” Aknamkanon chuckled as Yami leaned his head back, coughing and gasping for air. “If only you would learn your lesson.”

“What lesson?” Yami coughed out, glaring at Aknamkanon. “All I did… was trip…”

“You and I both know that that’s not true,” Aknamkanon chuckled. “You can’t lie to me, Yami. I’m your father, after all.”

Yami’s glare darkened. “You are _not_ my father!”

“No matter how much you and I wish it wasn’t so, the fact still remains that we are related by blood.” Aknamkanon’s smirk became a glare. “And as your father, I demand respect.”

“I’ll give you respect when you earn it,” Yami snarled.

Aknamkanon growled and stood up. “I was hoping that I wouldn’t need to use this.”

Yami didn’t turn around, unsure if he wanted to see what Aknamkanon was doing. He heard a small click and then Aknamkanon returned. “It’s a pity. You’re my son… and yet you disgust me.” Yami tensed, feeling Aknamkanon’s hand on the back of his head. “The only one that is actually my flesh and blood, and yet _you_ are the one I despise the most.”

He plunged Yami into the bathtub again. Yami tried to resist. He felt something being plunged into the water beside him. He screamed in pain. Electricity seared through his body. All oxygen left him. He writhed, trying to escape the electricity-filled water. The iron in the water brushed against his skin.

More electricity ran through him. The water muffled his screams of agony. He felt his pulse in his neck. His heart beat at what felt like ten times its usual pace.  Hot tears pricked his eyes and were washed away by the bath water.

He gritted his teeth together. Then Aknamkanon pulled him out of the water.

Yami felt the electricity continue to course through him, but at a less painful rate. He gasped for air, his heart still pounding. He swallowed, his throat dry.

“I hope you’ve learned your lesson, Yami.” Although he could hear his father speaking, it was as though he was wearing earmuffs. Everything was muffled.

He felt Aknamkanon pull him up again and he took a deep breath, focusing on trying to create a mask.

Not for his father.

For his brothers.

* * *

Yugi yawned as he sat between Malik and Ryou in the circle. Anzu nodded in approval when she saw that he had changed into the pyjamas that she had gotten him; a black tank top with the words ‘Game Nerd’ written in purple letters and warm black pyjama pants.

“What now?” Malik asked, still hugging the ballerina bear.

Anzu grinned and held up an empty bottle. Where she had gotten it from, Yugi didn’t know. “Truth or dare!”

Seto scowled but made no complaint. Joey groaned. “Come on, can’t we do something else?”

Anzu frowned at him. “Joey Wheeler, we came to this party to have fun and hang out together. We are not spending the night watching television.”

“Plus we can’t go outside until morning,” Malik pointed out, nodding at the snow storm outside. Everyone’s eyes lit up at the prospect of the snow in the morning.

“Fine,” Joey sighed, “but I’m going first.”

Anzu handed him the bottle and everyone sat in a circle as Joey span it. It landed on Malik, who smirked. “Hit me with a dare.”

Joey grinned. “I dare you to stay away from the chocolate for the night.”

Malik’s eyes widened. “Aw, but that’s not fair! It isn’t even funny!”

“It doesn’t have to be funny. That’s my dare.”

Malik hesitated. “What’s the penalty?”

“Eating chicken.”

Malik glared at Joey. “You win this time, Wheeler.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. To most, the dare might have seemed like a waste of a turn, but with Malik, it was necessary for everyone to survive the night.

Malik took the bottle and span it. It landed on Tristan. Tristan gulped. With Malik, it was a game of chance. He picked one truth or dare for each person. If he had a dare for Tristan and Tristan picked dare, he was dead. The same went for truth.

“Um…” He hesitated. “…Truth…”

Malik pouted and Tristan breathed a silent sigh of relief. “Do you like Serenity?”

Tristan paled and glanced over at Joey. “Uh… n-no?”

“You have to tell the truth!” Malik sang with a triumphant smirk.

Tristan swallowed, seeing Joey clench his fist. “Uh… my turn!” There was a nervous tint to his laughter as he spun the bottle. It landed on Yugi.

“Truth,” Yugi decided.

Tristan scowled, knowing that Yugi was avoiding choosing dare with him. Everyone always did. A smirk formed on his face. “Have you ever seen anyone completely naked?”

Yugi’s face turned crimson and he almost choked on the hot chocolate he was drinking. “Wh-what?”

“Answer the question!” Tristan smirked.

Yugi’s blush darkened. “Uh… o-once…”

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock. “Who?” Anzu asked.

“I’m not saying!” Yugi replied, his blush still evident as he spun the bottle. It landed on Mokuba.

“I’ll go with truth,” the younger Kaiba said.

Yugi tilted his head before grinning. “Is it true your brother has a crush on someone?”

“Yup,” Mokuba said with a grin at his brother. “It’s-” Seto gave his brother a warning glare. “…someone I can’t say right now…”

Everyone groaned in disappointment but were hoping Seto would pick truth on his turn as Mokuba spun the bottle. It landed on Ryou. “Dare please,” the albino said with a smile, lowering his cup of tea.

Mokuba blinked in surprise. “I dare you to… change your email signature to ‘proud servant of Xena Warrior Princess’ and keep it that way for two days!”

Ryou groaned and nodded, already imagining what would happen if he emailed his father. “Fine…” He spun the bottle and it landed on Seto. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Seto responded in a cool, bored tone.

Tristan, Anzu and Malik drooped in disappointment that they wouldn’t get to find out who he had a crush on yet.

“You have to put on a blindfold and guess who one of us is just by touching their face,” Ryou decided. Anzu perked up again and pulled a scarf out of her bag, tying it around  Seto’s eyes before he could protest.

He sighed and put out his hand as someone walked in front of him. A mop of hair covering their forehead, a small nose, a wide, annoying grin…

“The mutt,” Seto sighed, taking off his blindfold to find that it was indeed Joey in front of him.

Joey growled. “I ain’t a stinking dog, Kaiba!”

“Guys, don’t start this again,” Ryou sighed, taking a sip of his tea.

“You can take it out on each other in a snowball fight in the morning,” Tristan pointed out.

The two glared at each other once more before turning away. “Fine…”

Seto reached for the bottle and span it. It landed on Joey. Everyone sweatdropped. It was going to be a long game.

* * *

When Yami made it back up to the attic, it was dark. Bakura and Marik were feigning sleep. When Aknamkanon released Yami’s arm, the latter strode into the room with even steps.

As soon as the door slammed closed, Marik sat up and looked over at Yami, who was still sopping wet. “Are you okay? What happened?”

“I’m fine,” Yami replied, pulling off his shirt and exchanging it for a dry one.

“What did he do?” Bakura’s tone was unconcerned. Yami knew that he was only asking the question for Marik’s sake.

“He just threw me under cold water for an hour,” Yami lied, keeping his tone even.

“Typical,” Bakura snorted.

Yami looked over at him, eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Bakura glared at him. “You know very well what it means, _Pharaoh_.”

Yami scowled. “Actually I don’t. Care to fill me in, _Thief?_ ”

“He always goes easy on you,” Bakura snarled. “He made Marik feel like cement blocks were being dropped on his head and half-drowned him, and he beat me to a bloody pulp! But you he just throws into a cold freaking shower! The most you’ll get is a cold!”

Yami gritted his teeth together. His mask was becoming difficult to hold. “What would you know, Bakura?”

“I know that you never get it as bad as Marik or I because you’re his son!” Bakura yelled.

“You’re his sons too!” Yami shot back. “We’re brothers!”

Bakura’s lip curled. “You know that’s not true.”

“Big deal; you were adopted!” Yami folded his arms. “You’re still his sons.”

“And yet because we’re not his real sons, he goes harder on us than you!” Bakura’s hands balled into fists. “Do you think I like being reminded every bloody day that I’m not a part of this family? Do you think it’s _fun_ to be…to be _tortured_ like that because we’re different?”

Yami blinked, his muscles going slack for a moment.

Bakura continued to glare at him. “You really have no idea what we go through every bloody day,” he huffed, lying down again and pulling the thin quilt over him again.

Marik didn’t even say anything. He just looked over at Yami once more before lying down as well and closing his eyes. Yami sighed and moved to sit on the couch. His fingers twitched every few minutes with electrical charge. _You’re right. I have no idea what it’s like not to almost die every time I go down there._

* * *

It was an unspoken rule on Christmas morning after the party that Joey would wake up first because of the alarm clock. Being closest to it, he would reach out from underneath his blanket, pick it up and hurl it across the room. Then he would fall back asleep.

Ryou would wake up next because of the commotion. He would lie in bed for a moment before getting up, waking Yugi and the two would go into the kitchen to turn on the heating and make breakfast – if they weren’t at Seto’s, in which case breakfast would already be made.

Mokuba would wake up next and in an excited frenzy would wake Seto, whose grumbling would wake Joey.

Joey would then begin arguing with the CEO, which would wake Anzu and Tristan, who would have no choice but to stop the argument. The five would then go into the kitchen, where Joey and Seto would continue to bicker, but with more consideration for the others.

Malik would wake up last, and run into the kitchen with some kind of trick up his sleeve. This time, it was a ‘starfish’.

“Starfish!” Malik yelled as he skidded to a halt.

“What are you on about?” Joey looked up from his pancakes.

Malik pointed at a spot on the ceiling. “Starfish! Starfish!” Everyone looked around, trying to see the so-called starfish. “Don’t you see it?” He started jumping up and down, pointing at another spot. “It’s right there!”

Mokuba caught on. “Oh yeah!  Starfish!” He cheered through his laughter.

Soon everyone but Tristan had caught on and, with the exception of Seto, were joining in.

“I don’t see it!”  Tristan complained.

“Buddy, it’s right there!” Joey pointed at a random spot on the ceiling.

“No, it’s there!” Yugi pointed at another spot.

Tristan swung his head around, trying to find it. When he heard everyone laughing, he scowled at them. “You guys suck.”

“No; we’re just awesome!” Malik cackled as he sat down to his plate of pancakes.

Everyone would then continue with their breakfast and conversations, snickering about the morning madness that was Malik every now and then.

But their breakfast was never crashed by an adult. Least of all, Ryou’s mother. When Ryou heard the door slam open, his fork clattered onto his plate.

“Ryou!” Akane Bakura’s voice was hoarse.  She staggered into the kitchen. Make-up was plastered to her face, a toner making her look orange, her lipstick, eye shadow and mascara making her look like a clown. Her skirt was tiny, her high heels were seven inches high and bright red and her t-shirt was skimpy at best. She looked around at Ryou’s friends and her eyes narrowed. “Everyone out.” No one moved. “Now!”

“Mother-” Ryou began but she silenced him with a look.

“Not one word, Ryou. Get out! Now!”

With hesitance, everyone began to collect their things and leave. “I’ll call you later,” Ryou mumbled to Yugi and Malik when they gave him questioning looks.

They nodded and left, leaving Ryou and his mother alone. Ryou turned back to Akane. Her pupils were dilated and her veins could be seen on her pale, thin arm. So could numerous red stab-wounds.

Ryou recognised them as wounds from syringes. “Why are you back?” He murmured, not meeting her gaze.

“Ran out of money,” she replied, staggering towards her bedroom. “And stash.”

Ryou’s eyes widened. “You keep that here?”

“Of course.” Akane smirked. “Where else would I keep it?”

“Anywhere else!” Ryou replied, following her. She ignored him, rummaging around in the back of a press until she found what she was looking for.

She pulled out a large bottle filled with what Ryou now knew was heroin. “Perfect.” She filled a needle with it and injected it into her arm. Her muscles became even more relaxed.

Ryou took a step back as she filled the needle again. “Y-you’re going to take _two_?”

“Of course not,” she giggled, moving with astounding speed in her heels and pushing Ryou against the wall. “I’m getting one for you too.”

Ryou’s eyes widened in horror as Akane grabbed his wrist and brought the needle closer to it. His  pulse grew faster and he twisted his wrist out of her grip, only just avoiding having the drug injected into his system.

“Oh c’mon, Ryou!” Akane grabbed for his wrist again, but he managed to dodge. “It’s great; you should try it!”

“I’d rather not…” Ryou ducked out from behind her and darted down to his room.

“Ryou!” His mother called after him. He winced at the high pitch in her voice and he closed his door. He then proceeded to grab his schoolbag and stuff any essentials he had into it.

 _Toothbrush, pyjamas, clothes, five hundred yen, phone, Christmas presents._ He nodded, opened his window and clambered onto the roof. He took a deep breath and jumped from the roof onto a thick branch of the tree beside his window and shimmied down it. A few seconds after his feet landed on the grass, he heard his mother enter his bedroom and call his name.

 _Not again. Never again._ He swallowed and began running towards the Kame Game shop, thankful that it was near his house.

Yugi would understand.

He hoped.

* * *

By midnight, the three siblings were still awake. Bakura was still fuming, Marik was keeping a vigil in case he needed to break up another fight and Yami was still unable to sleep because of the electricity.

“Bakura.” Yami’s voice cut through the silence like a knife.

“What is it?” Bakura’s seemed softer after Yami spoke, even if it was more irritable.

Yami sighed and looked at his phone. “You were right. We need to get help.”

“Hm.”  Bakura leaned his weight on his elbow and sat up. “Glad you’re finally seeing sense. What made you change your mind?”

“Does it matter?” Yami snapped, walking over to his mattress and lying down. “We can ask Yugi the day after tomorrow.”

“Why not tomorrow?” Bakura raised an eyebrow.

“It’s Christmas,” Marik pointed out. “If… if there’s a repeat of what happened to Heba and Atemu-”

“Which there won’t be,” Bakura cut it.

“-We can’t just let someone die on Christmas. It’s not right.”

“Hundreds of people die on Christmas every year, Marik,” Bakura sighed.

Marik just shrugged. “It still wouldn’t be right.”

Bakura groaned. “Fine; the day after tomorrow then. Happy?”

“Very,” Marik agreed with a grin.

Bakura rolled his eyes and looked at Yami. “So what’s the plan?”

“No plan for now,” Yami mumbled. “Just sleep.”

Silence fell over them once again, even though they knew that no one had fallen asleep. They stayed like that until morning.


	4. Chapter 4

**CW: Mention of drugs, physical abuse, alcoholism**

* * *

"Grandpa, I'm home!" Yugi called as he walked into the Game Shop, toeing off his shoes.

"Yugi!" There was a large grin on Solomon's face as he greeted his grandson with a hug. "You're home early. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, Ryou's mom came in while we were having breakfast," Yugi replied. "I guess she wanted to spend Christmas alone with Ryou or something…" He shrugged.

Solomon gave him an odd look. "I see…" He rubbed his chin. "Would you remind me who Ryou's mother is? I don't seem to recall meeting her."

"I never met her before today either," Yugi said with a shrug as he took off his jacket. "I think her name's…Akane Bakura."

Solomon frowned at the sound of the name. "I've heard that name before…I'm just not sure where…"

Yugi shrugged and picked up a card and present that he had left on the counter before leaving for Ryou's the previous day. "You probably just heard Ryou mentioning her." He grinned at his grandfather. "I'm just going to bring these over to our new neighbours."

Solomon nodded. "Don't stay for long; they're probably celebrating right now."

Yugi nodded in understanding and left the warmth of the game shop, trekking across the deserted, snowy street towards Yami's house.  _I hope he won't mind me showing up without telling him…_

Banishing the thought, Yugi raised a hand and knocked on the door. All was silent for a few minutes and Yugi frowned.  _They might have gone to mass or something… I don't know if they celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday or not…_

Just as he was about to turn around and go back to the Kame Game shop, the door swung open to reveal a tanned, muscular man with grey hair and hard eyes. "What do you want?"

Yugi looked up at him. "Uh…A-are you Yami's father?" The man narrowed his eyes but nodded. "I, uh…came to give this to him. Well, it's for all of you really, but-"

"How did you meet him?" The man cut him off.

"I-I saw him through the window." Yugi swallowed and nodded across the road at his home. "We're neighbours and from my room I can see into your attic, and I saw him at the window."

The man raised an eyebrow but nodded again. He glanced at the present and card in Yugi's grip. "And those are for him, you say?"

Yugi nodded and held them out to him. "I know he's grounded, but could I maybe come in and say hi to him?"

"No." The man took the objects. "I'll make sure he gets these though."

Yugi smiled. "Thank you. Merry-" Before he could finish his sentence, the door was closed in his face. "…Christmas…"

Yugi sighed but turned back towards his house. The snow had started to fall again, and it was already thick enough that he could only just see his house. He didn't want to be caught outside in it any longer. He glanced both ways out of habit before crossing over to the game shop, but just as he was about to push the door open, he saw the silhouette of someone staggering through the snow. His eyes widened and he shoved open the door. "Grandpa, someone's caught in the snowstorm!"

"What?" Solomon looked up. "Who would be crazy enough to go out in this weather?"

Yugi shook his head and ran out again, just as the silhouette came into full view. His eyes widened at the shock of white hair that matched the snow. "Ryou?"

"Y-Yugi…" The fifteen year old stumbled to a halt, shivering in only a thin jacket, a t-shirt and jeans. "H-help…" He staggered and collapsed.

Yugi yelped and darted forwards to catch him. "Grandpa!"

"I'm coming, Yugi!" Solomon limped outside. Yugi felt a pang of guilt, knowing that the cold always made his grandfather's hip act up. "Come on; let's get him inside before he catches pneumonia," Solomon said, helping to support Ryou's weight.

Yugi bit his lip as they carried the boy inside.  _Ryou…please be okay…_

* * *

Yami sighed as he sat up, not having slept all night. He doubted his brothers did either. "Morning," he mumbled.

"Merry Christmas!" Marik cheered, an excited grin on his face.

Yami chuckled at his brother's childish excitement. "You too, Marik."

"So what'dya get me?"

Yami rolled his eyes and reached beneath his pillow, pulling out two wrapped presents. He handed one to Marik and threw the other at the back of Bakura's head. Somehow, the albino managed to catch it without looking.

Marik grinned and shook the present before tearing the wrapping paper off. Underneath the paper was the action figure of Wolverine that Marik had been looking for. It had taken Yami while to get. He had to wait until Aknamkanon was out before ordering it online and having the postman leave it on the doorstep before using a few hangers to pull it up to the window. "Thanks Yami!"

"Don't worry about it," Yami said as Marik hugged the figurine. He sometimes worried about Marik's sanity.

Bakura glanced back at them before opening his own present. Inside was a new black trench coat – he had outgrown his old one. "Hn. Thanks, Pharaoh."

Yami nodded in response as Marik pulled the presents he had gotten them from underneath the couch and handed them to him. Yami opened his, finding a pair of leather pants. He chuckled and thanked Marik. Bakura mimicked Yami's actions, finding a blunted knife with 'Tomb Robber' carved into it.

"What'd you get us, Fluffy?" Marik looked up at Bakura.

Bakura rolled his eyes and stood up, pulling two presents out of the closet. He tossed them at his brothers before sitting on the couch again.

Marik tore off the paper in an excited frenzy. His eyes widened, finding a figurine of The Winged Dragon of Ra. "Yes! Thanks, Fluffy!"

"Stop calling me that!" Bakura snapped as Yami opened his own present to find a t-shirt with the Dark Magician on it.

Yami nodded his thanks. Bakura nodded in response. That was what their relationship was based on as neither liked thanking the other; to express gratitude, they would nod. It was a good system. To them, anyway.

They all relaxed, Marik playing with the two figurines, Bakura thumbing the blade of his knife and Yami just relishing in the peace. After a few minutes of this, however, they heard footsteps.

They looked at each other and cursed in unison before scrambling to hide their gifts. If Aknamkanon knew they were able to contact people, they would be killed.

The only reason that they even had phones and laptops was because Atemu and Heba had been able to buy them for them with the money the brothers had given them – which Bakura managed to steal from Aknamkanon without him noticing.

If he knew that Yami had managed to hack into someone's internet, order things online and that he was texting Yugi, they really would be killed.

Within moments, they had managed to slide the laptop under the couch, shove their phones under Marik's pillow and their gifts into the closet with practised ease. Marik lay down just before the door was opened, just in case Aknamkanon saw the lump under his pillow.

The door was opened in a soft motion rather than thrown open for once and Aknamkanon strode into the room holding four wrapped objects and a card. "Yami." Yami looked up, his heart pounding. "Our new neighbour came by today. He had a gift for you; said that he saw you in the window."

Yami swallowed and nodded. "We had a small conversation."

"How?" Aknamkanon's tone was growing colder with each word.

Yami hesitated. "We just said hi and asked each other a few questions using a marker and paper."

"Show me."

Yami pulled the pad of paper off of the coffee table and handed it to Aknamkanon, who flicked through the messages he had sent to Yugi.

He nodded and handed the paper back to Yami. "I'm warning you. If you tell him…" Yami nodded, looking away. Aknamkanon smirked and dropped the gifts and card on the floor before leaving the room. "Merry Christmas, boys."

* * *

When Ryou's eyes fluttered open, he was assaulted by a headache. He groaned, forcing himself to sit up and bringing a hand to his aching head. "Where am I?" He mumbled, looking around.

Hearing a small gasp, he looked up to see Yugi standing in the doorway of what he now recognised as the Mutou's living room, a grin on his face. "Ryou! You're awake!"

Ryou nodded, swinging his legs over the edge of the couch. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Solomon asked, coming into the room with a glass of water and painkillers. Ryou shook his head, taking the water and panadol with a grateful smile. "You were walking in the middle of a snowstorm, Ryou. It was lucky that you made it here. If you didn't, you'd probably still be out there." Ryou looked outside to see that it was still snowing, even though it was noon – as far as the clock over the fire said – and it had begun at half nine.

"Why were you outside, Ryou?" Yugi sat down beside his friend.

Ryou looked down, swallowing. "I…my mother…"

"Akane, am I right?" Solomon asked. As opposed to moments before, his voice was cold.

Ryou nodded. "You've heard of her…"

"In the newspapers," Solomon replied in a stiff voice.

Ryou sighed. "She ran out of money and…and heroin. She came back to replenish her supplies and tried to make me take some of the heroin."

Yugi's eyes widened in shock. "But… she's your mother…"

Ryou shrugged. "She doesn't remember who or where she is half the time. I'm surprised she even remembered my name when she came back." Yugi pulled him into a hug and Ryou couldn't help but relish in the comfort that it provided. "Thanks, Yugi," he whispered after pulling away.

Yugi nodded with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about your mother," Solomon said, his voice warm again. "You can stay here for a while. And if she even tries to come near you again…well, I'd like to see her try." He smirked and chopped the air, following the chop with a kick. An audible pop rang through the room and Solomon winced, gripping his hip.

"Grandpa, the nurse told you not to do that!" Yugi protested, but Solomon waved off his concerns.

Ryou chuckled. "Thank you, Mr. Mutou."

"Think nothing of it, Ryou," Solomon replied with a grin. "You can stay here for as long as you need."

Ryou nodded, his heart sinking as he realised that whenever his mother came home, she stayed until she met someone else.  _I might need to stay for a while longer than he expects…_

* * *

The sombre mood that had fallen upon the brothers when Aknamkanon arrived had faded away again and Marik was busy tearing open his last present. "Aw… he got me a bear…" He muttered, scowling at the stuffed toy. "Here, Fluffy; you can have it." He threw it over to Bakura.

Bakura scowled. "Why would I want it?"

"You can stab it with your knife or something. I don't know." Marik shrugged. "Since I gave you my present, can I have yours?"

"Sure, whatever," Bakura muttered and threw the package at Marik. Once again, the blonde tore off the paper, grinning at the bag of candy inside.

Yami sighed, shaking his head. "No more than one, Marik."

"But why?" Marik whined. Yami raised an eyebrow. "Oh. Right." Marik cringed, remembering the last time he had gotten hyper. "Okay, but I'm not throwing the rest away."

Yami shrugged. "Fine by me." He looked at the two presents in front of him, deciding to unwrap the gift from his father first. Inside was a booster pack of duel monster cards.

He shrugged, knowing that he could have gotten worse. Then he turned to the gift Yugi had gotten him and unwrapped it with care that he hadn't shown the previous gift.

Inside was a small framed picture of what seemed to be an old Pharaoh from ancient Egypt whose hair was identical to Yami's. Yami blinked in surprise before opening the card accompanying the gift.

_Yami,_

_Merry Christmas! I hope you like your present. My friend's sister had part of a wall covered in hieroglyphics delivered to her museum recently and I saw the picture of the Pharaoh and it reminded me of you because of your hair and how you said that your brothers call you 'Pharaoh'. I know it's not much, but I hope you like it._

_Love, Yugi._

Yami felt his heart skip a beat and he re-read the last line a few times to make sure that it was what Yugi had written. Then he grinned and placed the framed picture and the card by his bed before checking his phone.

As he suspected, he had received a text from Yugi.

_Merry Christmas, Mou Hitori!_

Yami chuckled and responded.

**You too, aibou. How are you?**

The reply was almost instantaneous.

_I'm okay. My friend Ryou's not great though…his mom tried to make him take heroin._

Yami did a double take. "What is it?" Bakura asked, looking over Yami's shoulder.

"Yugi's friend's mom tried to make her son take heroin," Yami replied as he typed his response.

**What the hell? That's just messed up.**

_I know; that's what I thought._

**Let's move onto a happier topic; this is depressing.**

"No it's not; it's interesting," Bakura protested. At that stage, Marik looked over Yami's shoulder too, but stayed silent.

"Shut up, Thief," Yami muttered.

_Good idea. So, did you like your present?_

**Yeah; I loved it. Thanks, aibou. I have a present for you too; I'll try to give it to you today.**

_Thanks, Mou Hitori! By the way, there's an awesome online roleplay website if you want to check it out. My friends and I created a group and I can send you an invite to join us._

Bakura's eyes lit up, unknown to Yami. Yami grinned.

**That would be great; what's it called?**

_Capsule Monster Coliseum. It's not a great name, but trust me. The game is amazing!_

**That sounds great; I'll join when I get the invitation. My email is** **darkmagicianpharaoh@hotmail.com** **.**

_Great! Sorry, but I need to go. Talk later?_

**Sure, aibou. Bye.**

Yami turned off his phone and turned to see Bakura grinning like a Cheshire cat. "What?"

"Nothing," Bakura replied, turning back to the bear that he was stabbing with the blunted knife. "Nothing at all."

* * *

Yugi yawned as he pulled on his pyjamas, deciding to leave the end of the five hundred piece puzzle that Malik had given him for Christmas until the next day. Out of habit, he checked his phone and found one new message.

"Unknown number," he muttered with a frown.

**_Shrimp! Why didn't you invite us to join your roleplay?!_ **

Yugi frowned.

_Uh…who is this?_

**_I'm your neighbour!_ **

_…Who?_

**_-_-' I'll give you a clue. PSYCHO! 8D_ **

Yugi groaned, rolling his eyes.

_You're Yami's brother Marik?_

**_Bingo!_ **

Yugi sighed, receiving another message.

**You're a foolish mortal with no hope of survival.**

His eyes widened.

_What?_

**You will be one of the first to die when the Dark Lord Zorc finally returns and unleashes his wrath upon civilisation.**

_Who is this?!_

**Your screams will echo into infinity while the shadows feast on your soul.**

By that stage, Yugi was having a small panic attack.

_Tell me who you are before I call the police!_

**Jeez, no need to get drastic, shrimp. I'm the Pharaoh's brother.**

Yugi frowned.

_But I was talking to Marik just a minute ago…from a different number…_

Yugi glanced at his messages from Marik and sweatdropped. "How did he send me twenty messages in two minutes?" He muttered, scrolling through them.

**_Yugi?_ **

**_WHY YOU IGNORE ME?!_ **

**_X_X_ **

**_It's a whale!_ **

**_It's sad because you're ignoring me._ **

**_Yugi!_ **

**_Shrimp!_ **

**_What does aibou mean?!_ **

**_HELLO?!_ **

**_Cheese!_ **

Yugi rolled his eyes and went back to his chat with the second number's owner.

**I'm hurt; Yami mentioned that psycho and not me?**

Yugi paused before his eyes widened in realisation.

_Bakura?_

**He finally gets it.**

_Why did you text me all those threats! You almost gave me a heart attack!_

**Almost isn't good enough, I'm afraid. No one likes an under achiever. Now do what all you mortals do best; die.**

Yugi frowned.

_That wasn't nice._

**Neither am I.**

_Okay, what do you want?_

**You know that roleplay you were telling the Pharaoh about earlier? Marik and I want in as well.**

_You mean Capsule Monster Coliseum?_

**That's the one.**

_No way; I don't even know you two!_

**You don't know Yami properly either but you invited him. And besides, if you don't, Marik will just keep spamming you with messages.**

Yugi glanced at his messages from Marik and groaned. Fifty. In three minutes. And all of them random.

_Alright; I'll send you the invitation too! Just give me your emails._

**Mine's** **tombrobber@hotmail.com** **and Marik's is** **psychokiller@hotmail.com** **.**

_Alright, the invites will be there in the morning._

Yugi could almost see the shadowy figure he imagined Bakura as smirking.

**Perfect. Sleep well. And next time, do try to die if we give you a heart attack. It'll just save me the bother of killing you while you sleep.**

Yugi rolled his eyes.

_You've got to stop doing that; it's creepy._

He received no response. Rolling his eyes again after deleting all of Marik's spam texts, Yugi plugged his phone in to charge for the night and checked out the window before closing his curtains and climbing into bed to read for a while.

Just in case Bakura decided to live up to his threat.

* * *

"Y'know, you didn't have to throw the snowball that hard," Joey grumbled at the person he was talking to on Skype.

On the screen, Seto shrugged. "You didn't need to start a snow fight with me."

"Touché," Joey sighed, rubbing his arm. "So what are you and Mokuba doing tonight?"

"Mokuba's convinced me to watch a bunch of sappy Disney films with him." Seto shrugged. "I find them boring, but it makes him happy."

"How can you not like Disney films? They're awesome!" Joey protested.

Seto rolled his eyes. "Of course you would say that, mutt."

"I ain't a dog, Kaiba!" Joey growled, only further proving Seto's point.

"Sure looks like it to me."

Joey ground his teeth together only to freeze when he heard the front door of his house slam open. "Sorry to cut this short, Kaiba, but I need to go."

"Wheeler, what's going on?" Seto asked with a frown.

"Can't explain; I gotta go." He logged off his computer without another word. A few moments later, his father stumbled into the room, stinking of alcohol.

"Joseph; c'm'ere," he slurred, glaring at Joey.

Joey gulped and stood up, his muscles going tense. Even on Christmas, he could never catch a break.

* * *

Malik pulled off his helmet as he opened the door of his family's apartment and walked inside. It was dark; only a lamp in the sitting room was on. He grinned.  _Maybe they already went to bed…_

He began to tiptoe towards his room only to freeze at the sound of his sister's voice. "Where have you been?"

Malik scowled, now noticing the shape of her head just above the back of the couch. "That's none of your business," he snapped.

"Malik." Odion's voice was calm but demanding. "Don't talk to your sister like that."

Malik ground his teeth together and glared at his siblings. A lot of things that he wanted to say were in his mind, but he settled for the least insulting. "Where's father?"

"Asleep," Ishizu sighed. "You're lucky that he had a bad head cold."

"Yeah; I'm so lucky," Malik muttered in a flat tone, receiving a disapproving frown from Odion.

"I'll ask you one more time, brother." Ishizu stood up. "Where were you?"

"I was out, Ishizu."

"Out where?"

"With friends!" Malik snapped, choosing not to mention that he had taken a trip to the beach on his own and stayed there for several hours before driving back on his motorcycle.

"Is that so?" Ishizu raised an eyebrow. Malik nodded. "Yugi and Ryou, right?" Again, Malik nodded, albeit with a slight bit more hesitant. "So if I called either of them, they would tell me the same story?"

Malik ground his teeth together again, his fists clenching. "Leave me the frig alone, Ishizu!" He snarled. "You don't own me!"

"Malik," Odion said, his tone growing colder.

"And neither do you, Odion!" Malik snapped, glaring at his adopted brother before storming towards his room. "Just leave me alone."

Once he reached his bedroom, he slammed the door and sat on the bed – which, aside from a desk and a chair – was the only piece of furniture in the room. He sighed, his eyes softening and growing sad. He pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head on them. "Merry friggin' Christmas."

* * *

When Yami woke up, Bakura and Marik were already awake, the latter messing around with the two figurines he had gotten for Christmas. "Good; you're awake," Bakura sighed, throwing Yami's phone over to him. "You can call Yugi."

Yami scowled. "Bakura, I said I'd ask him for help but you're being unreasonable. He's probably not even up yet!"

"He is," Marik said, looking up from The Winged Dragon of Ra. "We saw him pulling his curtains open from the window."

Yami gave him an incredulous look. "Do you know how much like a stalker you sounded?"

"Yes." Marik turned his gaze to Wolverine but it was clear his attention wasn't on the figures. "But now you can call him."

Yami sighed and glanced at his brothers once more before turning on his phone and calling Yugi's number. He swallowed to moisten his throat as it rang.

After five dial tones, Yugi picked up. "Yami?"

"Morning, Yugi," Yami greeted.

There was a small pause. "Morning. Is there a reason you're calling this early?" There was another pause. "Not that I mind; it's just you said that you were a late sleeper and it's only eight, so-"

"Don't worry about it, aibou," Yami chuckled, cutting Yugi off.

"So why  _did_  you call?" Yugi asked.

Yami looked at his brothers once more as if to say 'do we really have to do this?'. Bakura nodded with folded arms and hard eyes, while Marik gave him a sympathetic look.

"Yami?"

Yami sighed and turned his attention back to his phone. "Yugi… My brothers and I… We need your help."


	5. Chapter 5

**CW: Mentions of murder, emotional/physical abuse (needles), bruising/blood, racism**

* * *

_"Yugi… My brothers and I… We need your help."_

No matter what Yugi did, he just couldn't get Yami's voice out of his head. He groaned and leaned back on his bed. His hair was even wilder than usual due to his lack of sleep the previous night.

But how could he have slept after what Yami had told him? And he didn't even know how to help.

He closed his eyes for a moment.

_"We're locked in the attic."_

That explained why he never saw Yami outside or in any other room in the house.

_"Our father tortures us every day."_

That explained why Yami often disappeared at random intervals without much warning.

_"We need help, Yugi. I…I don't know how much longer we can go on like this."_

That was the part that didn't make sense. Of all people, why would Yami, Bakura and Marik turn to him? Little Yugi Mutou who was often mistaken for a ten year old, who had the strength of an eight year old. No, a seven year old! What could he do?

_"We can't call the police; if he finds out, he'll kill us."_

That limited him even further. Without the authorities, he could do nothing. He couldn't even tell his grandfather; if he did, Solomon would just call the police, which was the only thing Yami had specified that they couldn't do under any circumstances.

_"Please Yugi. You know I wouldn't ask you if there was any other option."_

Yugi swallowed and sat up, his feet not even touching the ground as he swung his legs over the edge of his bed.

There was a soft knock on the door. Yugi sighed and stood up, swaying before walking to the door and opening it. On the other side stood Ryou. "Breakfast's ready," he said only to see how tired Yugi was. "What's wrong?"

"I just… I didn't sleep well," Yugi mumbled, shaking his head.

"Why? What happened?"

Yugi sighed and walked back over to his bed. He sat down, gripping the sides of his head. "I need to help them… They need my help, but I don't know if I can do this?"

"Who needs your help?" Ryou asked, sitting down beside Yugi.

"Yami and his brothers," Yugi whispered. "Their dad… He… He does things he shouldn't and he locks them in the attic… If the police find out and he knows about it, he'll kill them all… I can't even tell Grandpa because he'll just call the police and say that their dad wouldn't know about it…"

"So why are you telling me?" Ryou asked in confusion.

Yugi grabbed his head again. "I need to tell someone, Ryou; I can't do this alone! I'm not good enough! Not strong, or smart enough!"

"Yugi!" Ryou gripped Yugi's wrists and pulled them away from the smaller boy's head. "You're all of those things, and more." Yugi opened his mouth to protest, but Ryou cut him off. "No, listen to me, Yugi." Yugi hesitated but closed his mouth again. "They wouldn't have asked you for help if they didn't think you could do it. You _are_ strong; you're smart, you're brave and you're definitely good enough. Sure, you might need help, but that doesn't make you weak. The fact that you told me makes you even stronger because you were able to recognise that you need help even if you mightn't want it." Ryou squeezed his hand. "So how about this; we call up the others and get them to meet us at Burger World later today and you can tell them about it and I know that they'll want to help as well."

"Ryou…" Yugi hesitated before smiling and nodding. "Thanks."

Ryou returned the smile. "Think nothing of it. Now come on; breakfast's ready and you know how your grandfather gets about being-"

There was a loud crash from downstairs. "Yugi Mutou, if you don't get down here this instant, this Xbox will meet a fate much worse than just 'falling'!" Solomon yelled up to them.

Ryou sweatdropped. "-late…"

* * *

Bakura looked around. He was in a dark cave. Behind him, the exit was in sight, but something was pulling him further down the tunnel. His footsteps were soft, and he could feel that he wasn't wearing any shoes. However, no sharp stones assaulted his feet.

He heard a yell of pain from further down the tunnel and his eyes widened before he ran towards it. He stumbled once or twice along the way even though the path was smooth.

Reaching a large cavern, Bakura pressed himself to the wall of the tunnel and peered around the corner.

Blood. There was blood everywhere. People were screaming and others were sobbing. Some were hugging their children or partners. Bakura watched as one was pulled forward.

He recognised her brown hair and eyes. "Mama…"

His eyes widened as the person who had pulled her up brought out a sword. He tried to run out to her, knowing what was coming, but he was frozen in place.

His mother didn't even get the chance to scream before the blade was plunged through her heart. Bakura shakily looked up at the wielder of the sword.

He had tanned skin and hair that had turned white with age. And piercing blue eyes that looked straight at Bakura before the man smirked.

The man opened his mouth. "Bakura! Hey, Fluffy, wake up!"

Bakura blinked in confusion as darkness covered the scene. He closed his eyes and opened them again to find himself lying on his bed with Marik leaning over him. "What the hell do you want, Marik?" Bakura groaned, sitting up.

"Will you duel me? Yami doesn't believe that I can beat you even though I did before."

"You never defeated me; it was a draw!" Bakura snapped, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

Marik smirked at his words, knowing that he had pushed the right buttons. "Well anyway, Yami wants to see who'll win."

Bakura glared at Marik before picking up his deck from his bedside table. "Fine."

Marik's smirk became a grin and he pulled his own deck out of his pocket before making his way over to the small coffee table that the ate and duelled at.

Yami watched with vague amusement as though already knowing the outcome of the match. Bakura's eyes lit up at the sight of his hand while Marik pouted. "First, I'll place one card face down and summon Goblin Zombie in attack mode."

Marik looked at his hand. "I'll also place a card face down and I'll summon Drillago and-"

Before they could continue, Yami held up a hand and pointed to the door. They paused as footsteps reached their ears. Bakura shoved their phones between the couch cushions and Marik slid the computers under the mattress before all three of them backed away from the door as it swung open.

Aknamkanon watched them with a smirk. "Hello again, boys." There was no response as he strode into the room.

After a minute of silence, Yami swallowed. "What do you want?"

Aknamkanon's smirk grew. "If I wasn't in such a good mood, I'd punish you for that, Yami." Yami withheld a flinch. "You see, a relative of mine is visiting soon. One you might remember, Bakura. My brother, Aknadin." Bakura's eyes widened and he tried to stop himself shaking. "Yes, he'll be here for about a week to keep an eye on you all with me. If it works out well, he may even move in with us."

"You son of a bitch…" Bakura's voice was soft, yet angry.

Aknamkanon narrowed his eyes. "Care to repeat that, Bakura?"

"You son of a bitch!" This time, Bakura's voice was loud. "You bastard! You fucking-!"

"Bakura, calm down!" Yami pulled his brother back, pinning both arms to his sides.

"Let me go!" Bakura yelled, squirming to get free.

"Yes, let him go, Yami." Aknamkanon's eyes glinted. "Before you get punished too."

Yami was about to refuse when Bakura managed to pull himself free of Yami's grip. However, the force that he used to break free made him stumble, which Aknamkanon used to his advantage. He grabbed Bakura's wrist and yanked him towards him. "You're coming with me,  _boy_."

Bakura gulped as Aknamkanon pulled him out of the room and locked the door behind them.

Aknamkanon smirked and pinned Bakura against the wall just outside the attic. "Listen."

Bakura tensed but obliged. He heard footsteps and a slight rustle. "You'd have won that duel," he heard Yami say to Marik, his voice tense.

"No, I wouldn't have."

"Your cards-"

"I don't give a damn about the cards. I still wouldn't have won. Not if I knew that was going to happen."

Aknamkanon smirked at Bakura. "Sweet, isn't it? Your brother throwing the duel for you." His grip on Bakura's wrists tightened. "What a pity. It's a sign of how weak he is."

"No, it's not!" Bakura spat at him.

"It's also a sign of how weak you are; appreciating that kind of thing!" Aknamkanon growled. "You should want him to duel you at full power so that you could destroy him or be destroyed!" He smirked. "But you don't. That makes you weak, Bakura. These feelings, these emotions. Compassion. Gratefulness. Love. Kindness. It's all weak." His smirk grew and he pulled Bakura away from the wall and towards the stairs. "And you know what I do to people who are weak."

* * *

"Are you ready to do this?"

Yugi looked up at Ryou as they reached Burger World. "No…"

Ryou gave him a reassuring smile. "It will be fine, Yugi."

"Easy for you to say; you're not the one who has to tell them," Yugi mumbled as they walked through the electronic doors.

It wasn't hard to find Joey and Tristan, who were already eating the largest burgers that the restaurant had to offer. Anzu and Serenity were watching them with an exasperated expression while Malik just took a secretive photograph of them.

Yugi saw Ryou sweatdrop before smiling at the group. "Hey, guys."

Joey waved a hand while Tristan nodded before the two resumed their eating competition. Anzu glared at the two boys before smiling at Ryou and Yugi. "Hey. What took you so long?"

Ryou looked over at Yugi as they sat down. "I think it would be best if Yugi explained that."

Anzu looked over at Yugi. Yugi didn't say anything, waiting for Joey and Tristan to finish eating. Seeing this, Serenity put a hand on her brother's arm. "Joey, put your burger down for a minute. Yugi has something important to say."

Joey blinked before setting down his burger and looking across at Yugi. "Everything okay?" He asked after swallowing the food in his mouth.

"Not exactly," Yugi sighed. "But before I say this, I need you to promise you won't call the police."

"Did you kill someone?" Malik asked.

Yugi blinked. "What?"

"Cause if you did, we need to get the body into water. That way, the blood will be washed down the drain along with fingerprints and we can get Tristan to drive it to the dump."

"Why me?" Tristan raised an eyebrow.

"You've got a motorbike," Malik reminded him.

"So do you."

"You've got a less expensive motorbike that doesn't have leather seats that are frigging hell to get stains out of."

"Mai has a car!"

"She's still in America, remember?"

"But the evidence would be on the seat of my motorbike!"

"Guys, I didn't kill anyone!" Yugi groaned. "It's something else entirely!"

"Oh." Malik leaned back in his seat. "Well in that case, go right ahead. I won't tell anyone."

"I might tell Kaiba if he can help us, but aside from that, my lips are sealed," Joey agreed.

Tristan and Serenity both nodded in agreement. Anzu pursed her lips before forcing a smile. "Mine too."

Yugi sighed in relief. "It's… about Yami. My new neighbour."

* * *

"So Yugi's neighbours are locked in the attic of their house and are being tortured?" Seto raised an eyebrow, arms folded. "Doesn't that seem a bit extreme?"

"Weirder stuff has happened," Joey pointed out, his head resting on his folded arms. He was lying stomach-down on his bed with his laptop on his pillow. "Anyway, will you help us out if we need it?"

"I already said I'd help you." Seto rolled his eyes. "Do you need a second verbal confirmation?"

"It would be nice."

Seto sighed. "I'll help you get Yami and his psychotic brothers out of that house."

"Without telling the police?" Joey raised an eyebrow, raising an arm and propping his chin up on his hand.

He saw Seto frown. "Wheeler, what's that? On your arm."

Joey blinked and looked down. The sleeve of his green jacket had slipped upwards, revealing a large, hand-shaped bruise on his wrist. "It's nothing for you to worry about, Kaiba," he muttered, pulling his sleeve down. "Anyway, promise not to tell the police?"

"Wheeler-"

"Kaiba, do you promise?"

Seto rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll help you  _without_ calling the police on them." His eyes narrowed into icy slits. "Now. Where. Did. You. Get. That. Bruise?"

Joey hesitated and looked behind him. "Uh… I-I need to go…"

"Wheeler."

"Talk again tomorrow, Kaiba?"

"Wheeler!"

"See you then!"

"God dammit Wheeler, answer me!"

Joey's gaze met Seto's. "I'm sorry… I can't…" Without another word, he ended the video chat and closed down the gateway to his daily salvation.

* * *

"You know, I'm surprised you didn't have more of a reaction," Aknamkanon admitted as he held a sharp needle over a candle. "Considering your past with my brother."

Bakura looked down. His wrists were tied to the armrests of the chair. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Foolish boy." Aknamkanon examined the needle before striding over to Bakura. "Thinking that you can lie to me about something like this. I've known about it since I brought you in."

"You mean since you kidnapped me," Bakura snarled.

"You were the one that ran from the orphanage," the elder man reminded. "In fact, I recall saving you from dehydrating and starving to death in the middle of the desert. You were just lying there, unconscious. If I hadn't picked you up, do you really think that someone else would have?" Bakura flinched. "I thought as much." Aknamkanon held up the needle. "Still. I suppose you have proven to be useful in some aspects. You do provide me with entertainment after all."

Without warning, he pushed the needle under Bakura's nail. Bakura's eyes widened and he bit back a yell of pain. Aknamkanon pulled the nail out again. Bakura looked down at his finger, shaking. It was inflamed, but there was no blood. "W-what…?"

"The beauty of heated needles is that if you're fast enough, the wounds that are inflicted by them are healed fast enough to prevent bleeding and infection." Aknamkanon pressed the needle beneath another fingernail. "Which makes it so much more efficient."

Bakura hissed in pain, stopping himself from clenching his fists. "Y-you… You bastard…"

"Oh no, I can assure you, my parents were together when I was born." Aknamkanon pulled the needle out and re-inserted it into another finger. "But unlike yours, they lived to see past my third birthday."

"Shut up…" Bakura whispered, his voice cracking.

"I didn't let them die." Aknamkanon pressed the needle beneath another nail with each sentence he spoke.

"Shut up…"

"I didn't watch as a man slaughtered my entire village, including my parents and friends."

"S-stop it…"

"I didn't stand by helplessly as they were murdered in cold blood."

"Don't…"

"I didn't sacrifice them to save myself. I wasn't a selfish coward."

Bakura yelled in pain as Aknamkanon reopened the first wound. "Shut up! Just shut up!" He took a shuddering breath. "Please…"

"And why should I do that?" Aknamkanon traced the hot needle up Bakura's arm and to his neck, leaving a thin trail of swollen skin on Bakura's arm. "Especially when you're so fun to play with?" Bakura swallowed, closing his eyes. Aknamkanon smirked and pressed the needle beneath a nail. "If you scream, I'll let you go back up to them." Bakura gritted his teeth. "Just scream and it'll be over." Aknamkanon pushed it deeper. "Scream and you won't need to hear about how he murdered your family." Deeper. "How he spared your life so that you could live with the guilt and pain of your loved ones." Deeper. A strangled whimper of pain escaped Bakura's throat. "Good; almost there, 'Kura. Just a little-" He pushed it deeper. "-bit-" Deeper. "-more."

Bakura screamed.

Aknamkanon's smirk grew and he wrenched the needle from beneath Bakura's nail. The needle had cooled, so this time, there was blood. And plenty of it. "Good boy."

* * *

"I can't believe this! We should be trying to help Marik, and Yami, and Bakura! Not doing some stupid English project!" Malik groaned as they walked along the street to the public library.

"Like it or not, Malik, we still have to do schoolwork, and that includes Yoshikuni-sensei's projects," Ryou sighed before mumbling, "even if they are a bit long…"

"See? See? Even Ryou agrees that they're impossible!" Malik groaned, turning so that he was facing Ryou and Yugi as he walked backwards.

"That's not what I said and you know it," Ryou sighed.

"Yugi, you agree, right?" Malik gave Yugi a pleading look.

Yugi shrugged. "Sorry, Mal. I don't really mind them."

Malik groaned again, burying his face in his hands. "I'm doomed. Doomed to a lifetime of hanging out with hopeless friends who don't mind English."

"I  _am_  English," Ryou reminded him.

"Good point. Ryou doesn't count."

"Oh, thanks." Ryou huffed, crossing his arms.

"You know what I mean." Malik waved a hand in the air in a lazy manner.

"You know, if you actually  _did_ her assignments, she mightn't dislike you as much?" Yugi offered.

"I  _would_ do them if they weren't so frigging difficult!" Malik shot back.

"Maybe you should learn to speak English instead of Egyptian then, freak."

All three boys froze at the sound of the new voice and Malik felt his back hit something sturdy. He swallowed, looking up at the tall seventeen year old behind him. "U-Ushio…"

Ushio smirked and placed a firm hand on Malik's shoulder. "I have a matter that I want to discuss with you. All of you." He steered Malik towards the alleyway nearest to them with a steel grip. "And I don't advise trying to run."

Without a second thought, Ryou and Yugi ran after Ushio and Malik. Ushio smirked at them over his shoulder before throwing Malik against the wall. Malik hissed in pain as Ryou and Yugi ran over to him.

"Fools," Ushio muttered, watching as they helped Malik. "Your compassion is always your downfall."

"What do you want, Ushio?" Ryou asked, trying to keep the tremor out of his voice as he saw two burly friends of Ushio block their exit.

"It's simple, really." Ushio cracked his knuckles. "You guys owe me."

"What for?" Yugi asked, his eyes wide. "We never asked for your help!"

"No, but I helped anyway."

"You beat up Joey and Tristan!"

"They were bullying you. And bullying is something I won't stand for."

"You're bullying us right now!"

"Shut up, you little runt!" Ushio snapped, glaring at them. "My point is that you three owe me." He smirked, advancing on them. "And I want my debt paid in full."

* * *

Yami looked up as Aknamkanon pushed open the door. It was late; later than usual for his father. Marik had already gone to bed.

He caught Aknamkanon's vicious smirk before Bakura was thrown into the room and the door was locked again. Bakura hit the wall and slid to the ground.

Yami frowned when Bakura didn't get up again. Something was wrong.

With slow, careful movements, Yami made his way over to his younger brother.

He was trembling and his shoulders were heaving. His head was lowered, covering his eyes, but Yami could see a small, tear trail leading down his cheek. "Bakura…"

"What?" Bakura's voice cracked. "What do you want, Yami?"

Yami crouched down beside him. With slow movements, he placed his hands on Bakura's shoulders.

When the white-haired boy didn't respond, he threaded his arms around him and drew his brother closer.

"What did he do?" He murmured as Bakura clenched his shirt.

"Which one of them?" Bakura's whisper was bitter, even as he buried his head in Yami's shoulder.

"Either one. Whichever you don't mind talking about."

Bakura swallowed. " _He_  pushed needles under my nails… Taunted me about his brother… About my family…" His grip on Yami's shirt tightened. "Aknadin… He was t-the one who… w-who…" He shook his head, choking back a sob.

Yami rubbed comforting circles into his back. "Let it out, Bakura. You know it doesn't help to keep it in."

"But I c-can't…" Bakura choked back another sob. "I can't l-let it out, because if I do, e-everyone will get h-hurt… Everyone who t-tries to h-help me ends up getting hurt or k-killed… It's what happened with Atem… Heba… Akefia…" Bakura shook his head. "T-they always l-leave…"

Yami held him closer. "It's okay… I'm not going anywhere…"

They stayed there for a few minutes before the dam Bakura had built up began to collapse, piece by piece. It always did on this night. And Yami was always there to help him through it.

There to help him up, even though his blood was probably staining his top.

There to let him cry into his shoulder, even though Bakura's tears soaked him.

There to let him vent his anger or grief out on him, even if it hurt Yami more.

There to stay with him, long after he had cried himself to sleep to help him through any nightmares that he would experience during the night.

It was only on those days, just once a month, that Yami really felt like and older brother.


	6. Chapter 6

**CW: Homophobic/racist attack, fight and fight-related injuries, homophobia, physical/emotional abuse, sui attempt**

* * *

Malik glared at Ushio. "We owe you nothing!" He snarled, pushing away from the wall.

"Malik, don't make things worse," Ryou mumbled.

"He's right, Ishtar." Ushio smirked. "All you need to do is give me the money you owe me and I'll be on my merry way."

"For the last time, we don't owe you any money!"

"Are you so sure about that?" Ushio smirked and raised a hand, snapping his fingers. About five of his cronies – because Ushio didn't have friends, only followers – came into the alley.

Malik glared at them, standing in front of Ryou and Yugi with a protective stance. "Stay away from us!"

Ushio smirked. "Nah." He looked at his cronies. "Get them."

Malik's eyes widened. "Guys, get out of here."

Yugi looked up at him. "But-"

"Just go! I'll be fine!"

"We're not leaving you, Malik," Ryou insisted.

"How very noble of you." Ushio's cronies surrounded them. "Unfortunately, nobility like that is liable to get you into trouble, Bakura."

One of the cronies lunged at Malik. He ducked and swung a punch at him, hitting him in the stomach. The man coughed and stumbled back, winded. Another two lunged, but Malik ducked again and, with a sharp kick to the back of his knees, swept one off his feet. The other scowled and tried to punch him, but Malik managed to block and counter the attack.

Hearing a soft yelp, he whipped around to see that two cronies – one of whom was the first one he fought – had pinned Ryou to the wall with one of their hands on his neck. Malik let out a soft breath of relief when he saw that they weren't squeezing his throat. Yet.

But the soft-spoken boy looked terrified. The final crony had Yugi in a headlock. "Let them go," Malik growled, fists clenched.

"Of course I will." Malik turned to face Ushio. "Once you give me the money."

"We don't have your frigging money!" Malik snapped.

Ushio's eyes darkened. "I see. In that case, Ishtar, you're going to have to fight your way out."

"Doesn't seem like it'll be much of a challenge if this is all you have to offer."

Ushio's smirk returned. "Oh, you won't be fighting them." He twisted his head, cracking his neck. "You'll be fighting me."

Malik couldn't help but gulp. The older boy was almost twice his size and weight, with bulging muscles.

Sure, Malik was strong. But not  _that_ strong.

Before Malik could block him, Ushio stepped forward and slammed his fist into Malik's gut, and twisted it.

Malik coughed and fell back, clutching his chest. Somehow, Ushio had managed to get a direct blow to his solar plexus, and now he couldn't breathe.

"Things would have been so much easier if you just gave me the money, Ishtar."

"W-we d-d-don't…" Malik coughed and tried to breathe. "We d-don't have… t-to give you a-anything…"

"What a pity that you see it that way." Ushio grabbed the hem of Malik's shirt and dragged him up so that they were face to face. Malik's feet dangled just off the ground. "Once I'm through with you, I'll deal with Bakura and Mutou too. Unless you find a way to get me my money." Malik spat at Ushio. A snarl crossed Ushio's face and he dropped Malik, backhanding him across the face. Malik stumbled and crashed into a wall. "Fine. Have it your way." Ushio slammed Malik against the wall again, pinning him there by his shoulder. "I'm going to enjoy this, Ishtar."

He raised his fist. Malik squeezed his eyes shut and tensed, preparing himself for the blow. Before Ushio's fist could even move an inch, a dice sailed through the air and hit Ushio on the head.

"What the hell?" He whipped around, releasing Malik. The blonde slid down the wall and sank to the ground, gasping for breath. He looked up to see a dark, lithe figure at the entrance to the alley way, throwing a few dice into the air and catching them.

"You know, bullying isn't very nice."

"Who asked you?" Ushio snapped.

"No one. But unless you want to get your ass handed to you on a silver platter, I suggest you let them go."

Ushio smirked. "And who's going to hand it to me? You? Please, you couldn't beat me in your dreams."

Though he couldn't see the boy, Malik could hear the smirk in his voice. "We'll see."

* * *

Yami woke later on that night. Bakura was still asleep, but he could see Marik sitting up on the couch.

With slow movements, he unwrapped his arms from around his younger brother and stood, walking over to Marik. "Everything okay?"

"He's here."

Marik's voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.

Yami blinked and peeked through a crack in the curtains. Outside was a sleek, blue Corolla with the registration plate reading 'IWK YA', which he knew from experience stood for 'I will kill you all'.

"This isn't good," Yami mumbled, looking back at Bakura. Marik followed his gaze. "We can't let him get hurt again…"

Marik nodded in agreement, looking up as he heard footsteps. "What should we do?"

Yami didn't respond as the door opened. It wasn't slammed open, like it often was by Aknamkanon.

Aknadin Sennen's entrance was much slower. "Hello boys."

Aknadin's starch white hair contrasted with his tanned skin and he had duel-coloured eyes. One was a cold, unforgiving blue. The other was glass; gold with a black pupil.

Marik and Yami watched him, their bodies tense. He narrowed his eyes. "Now is that any way to greet your uncle?"

The two exchanged a glance. "What are you doing here, uncle?" Yami asked.

Aknadin smirked and looked over at Bakura. "I wanted to pay a visit to my favourite boys, of course."

Marik stepped between them. "He's sleeping."

Aknadin glared at Marik. "Then wake him up." Marik remained where he was in the middle of the attic, between Aknadin and Bakura.

"You're not hurting him again."

Aknadin's glare darkened. "You're in no position to tell me what to do," he snarled, striding towards Marik.

Yami caught his wrist before he could grab Marik. "Don't touch him."

Aknadin twisted his hand out of Yami's grip and then shoved him back. Yami stumbled and his legs hit the couch, causing him to fall onto it. "Stay out of my way, Yami." He turned back to Marik. "I don't think my brother's methods of teaching you respect have been very effective. Maybe I should have a go at it."

Marik bristled but didn't move. "You'll need to do a lot better than simple threats if you want to scare me."

"I'm not threatening," Aknadin hissed, leaning closer to Marik. "A threat implies that the person might not do the deed. I will  _definitely_  do it." He grabbed Marik's arm and twisted it behind his back, forcing him onto his knees. "Now are you going to come willingly, or am I going to have to force you?"

Marik couldn't do much other than let out a soft grunt of pain in response. Taking that as an agreement to the second option, Aknadin pulled Marik to his feet and out of the attic. He looked over at Yami and smirked. "So much for being the protective older brother."

He pulled the door closed again. The sound of the lock clicking into place caused Bakura to stir.

He blinked open his eyes and looked around. "Yami?"

Yami swallowed and walked over to him. "Everything okay?"

Bakura's gaze seemed clouded. "Where's Marik?" Yami hesitated. "He's here, isn't he?"

"…Yeah…" Yami nodded.

Bakura looked down. "I hate this," he muttered. "Whenever he comes I always feel so weak…"

Yami sat next to him. "You're not weak, Bakura. You're a lot of things, but you're definitely not weak. If you were weak, you wouldn't still be here."

Bakura sighed. "You and Marik are stronger."

"I get it easier than you guys, remember? You two are a lot stronger than me," Yami mumbled. Bakura didn't reply. Yami put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll get through this."

"I hope so…"

* * *

Ryou stared at the newcomer in shock as Ushio stepped towards him. "You damn punk," the bigger man growled. "You really think that you can beat me?"

"Oh, I don't think so." He threw a dice into the air and caught it. "I  _know_  so."

Ushio clenched his fist. "I'll teach you to mess with me." He ran at the boy. Ryou saw him clench the dice in his fist before throwing several at the ground. Ushio stepped on them and slipped, crashing hard into the ground.

"Ushio!" His cronies released Ryou and Yugi and ran to their leader.

Ushio groaned and sat up. "Get him you idiots!"

The five looked at each other and then at the boy before attacking. Before they could land a single blow, a second figure pulled the boy back, this one more recognisable.

Ryou's eyes widened. "Tristan?"

"Jeez, Duke, don't run ahead on me like that again." Tristan blocked a punch and threw one of the cronies over his shoulder. He landed flat on his back and didn't get up. "That's the third time."

The boy shrugged and sidestepped a punch. "Yeah, but this way is more fun." He kicked the back of the man's knee and dropped a dice, causing him to stumble, slip on the dice and faceplant into the floor. "You know I love a good chase."

Tristan rolled his eyes and threw another man over his shoulder. He landed on the person that Tristan had first thrown, who had been just about to get up.

The remaining two cronies glanced at their fallen comrades and then at Ushio before running out of the alleyway. Ushio glared at the three boys. "This isn't over," he growled before following them.

Once they were gone, Tristan and the boy ran up to Ryou, Yugi and Malik. "Are you guys okay?"

"We are, but Malik got into a fight with Ushio," Ryou replied as he helped Malik up.

The boy winced at the sight of the forming injuries in various visible places of Malik's body. "Yikes. We need to get those treated pretty quickly if you don't want them to swell. Come on; you can come back to my place and I'll sort you out."

"Wait, first off, can you tell us who you are?" Yugi asked.

The boy looked up at Tristan with a smirk. "You never mentioned me? I'm hurt, Tristan."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say."

The boy chuckled and turned back to the trio. "The name's Duke. Duke Devlin."

* * *

Joey sighed as he put two pieces of bread into the toaster and pushed it down. It was set to the first level.

All of his friends called it warm bread. Joey rolled his eyes. It wasn't warm bread; it was toast.

Just because he didn't like his toast burnt didn't mean that it wasn't toast. It was crispy, warm and crunched when you bit into it.

It was  _toast._

Ryou seemed to agree with him but remained neutral as he did in most arguments that the group had. But he was a devil to go up against in a debate.

Smart kid.

Joey froze when he heard the door open and he glanced over his shoulder to see his father. "Joseph."

"Hey, dad."

"Get over here."

Joey glanced at his still cooking toast before gulping and walking over to his father. Hank Wheeler grabbed him by the hem of his jacket and slammed him against the wall. "Why were you late?"

Joey hissed in pain. "I went over to Kaiba's to work on a project!"

"A project, huh? So how long were you sucking his dick for?"

Joey glared at his father. "For the last time, I don't like Kaiba and we're not going out!"

"Tell that to your Skype calls. How long do you call him a night for phone sex?" Hank punched Joey in the gut. "Twenty minutes?"

Joey coughed and clutched his stomach. "I'm just calling him to talk; nothing else!"

Hank sneered at him and released him. "If I see one more shred of anything that hints at him fucking you, you're no longer my son."

He strode out of the room. Joey stumbled away from the wall. His toast popped. Joey glared after his father. _I don't want to be your son._

* * *

Aknadin threw Marik into the chair and tied his wrists to the armrests. He didn't talk, unlike Aknamkanon. He preferred to get things done.

Except in Bakura's case.

He would torment him about Kul Elna for as long as he could. But as it was Marik, he didn't care for that. He picked up a small plank of wood and nodded to himself.

He spread glue over the surface of it and picked up a glass, examining it before hurling it at the wall. Marik flinched when it shattered.

Aknadin smirked and scooped up a handful of the glass. It pierced his skin but he didn't care.

He sprinkled it over the wood and then went back to the table that he had picked the glass up from. There was a container of pure rock salt. He nodded and poured the salt over the board as well.

He waited for a minute for the glue to dry before striding back to Marik. He smirked and dragged the wood down Marik's arm.

The tanned boy screamed in pain as the glass pierced his skin and the rock salt was pulled through his injury.

Aknadin's smirk grew and he repeated the action. When the boy's arm was almost shredded, covered in blood, Aknadin moved onto the next arm.

Marik, who had slumped against the chair, out of breath, tensed when he felt the board on his arm again.

Aknadin dragged it down his arm, and then pushed it up again. Another scream was torn from Marik's throat. Aknadin didn't pull the board away from Marik's arm, preferring to drag it down and up again.

When Marik's screams dulled to pained whimpers, Aknadin threw the board behind him and picked up the rock salt and a roll of bandages.

He took a handful of the salt and poured it over the wound.

Marik let out a choked sound that would have been a scream, had his voice not given out on him. Aknadin then bandaged the wound so that the salt was pressed against the wound, but it stemmed the bleeding. He then proceeded to do the same with Marik's other arm.

He stepped back to admire his work. Marik was slumped against the chair, eyes squeezed shut. His arms were trembling from pain, and his teeth were gritted. His fists were clenched but Aknadin knew he wouldn't try to escape. He untied him and pulled him up from the chair.

Marik staggered but managed to stay standing. Aknadin's smirk grew as he dragged him back up to the attic. Next time he went to get Bakura, Marik wouldn't be a problem.

* * *

"Thanks for helping me out, but I need to get going," Malik said to Duke as he left the apartment.

The raven haired boy nodded. "Okay, well if you need anything, just let me know."

Malik forced a smile. "I will."

He didn't bother waiting for the elevator. Instead he ran down the three sets of stairs and out into the car park. He almost looked for his motorbike before remembering that he didn't have it with him.

"Well this isn't good," he muttered, hands in his pockets. He had ten minutes to get home before he got into trouble.

As far as he could tell, he was about a half hour walk away. Sighing, he looked around. Seeing a sign for a local park, he shrugged. He was going to get in trouble for being late either way.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to go back?" Solomon asked as Ryou packed his belongings back into his bag. "You know that you're welcome to stay here for longer."

Ryou smiled. "I know, but my mother should have left by now, and I don't want to be a burden on you."

"But you're not a burden!" Yugi protested. "Right Grandpa?"

"That's right." Solomon nodded. "And besides, if Akane is still there, you could be in danger." He refused to call Akane Ryou's mother. In his view, anyone who would try to force their children to do something like take drugs didn't deserve to be recognised as a parent.

Ryou hesitated. Yugi smiled. "How about this; I go with you to your house, and if your mother's still there, we can come back to my house. If she's not there, I could stay at your house for the night, and maybe we could invite Malik over for the night and watch some movies."

Ryou hesitated. "But if she's there, then you could be in danger…"

"It's still better than you going alone," Solomon agreed. "If there's two of you, there's a much smaller chance of anyone getting hurt."

Ryou looked between them. "You two aren't going to drop this until I agree, are you?" They shook their heads. He sighed, a small smile on his face. "Okay, fine."

Yugi cheered. "I'll go pack a small bag."

Solomon and Ryou were silent as Yugi left the room. Solomon looked back at Ryou. "Be careful, okay Ryou? And remember, you always have a place here if you need it."

Ryou nodded. "Thanks, Mr. Mutou-" He paused, seeing Solomon's frown. "I mean… Grandpa." Solomon grinned. "I promise, I won't let Yugi get hurt."

Solomon put a hand on Ryou's shoulder. "Yugi can take care of himself. You put yourself first for once and make sure you don't get hurt."

Ryou hesitated before nodding. "I will. Thanks, Mr. Mu- Grandpa."

Solomon grinned. "Think nothing of it." He clapped Ryou on the shoulder. "And don't forget to bring the recipe for those cookies next time you come over."

Ryou sighed. "I don't think that's a good idea…"

"Why not?"

"They're bad for you, Grandpa. The nurse told you not to eat anymore junk food."

Solomon waved his hand dismissively. "They can't tell me what to do. I've been alive longer than they have. You just bring the recipe and I'll worry about the rest."

Ryou chuckled. "Okay."

Yugi came back into the room with a backpack. "You ready to go?"

Ryou nodded and picked up his bag. "Thanks for everything, Grandpa."

"It was no bother. Now you two have fun, and if there's any trouble, just give me a call and I'll come to pick you up."

"We will!" Yugi called as he and Ryou ran downstairs and pulled their shoes on. "Bye, Grandpa!" They walked outside.

The snow had melted earlier that day, but there was likely to be more later that day. There was no doubt that there would be more snow before New Year, which was in another two days.

They were silent throughout the walk to Ryou's house. When they got there, Akane's car was gone, but that didn't mean anything. It could have been towed.

"You ready?" Yugi looked up at Ryou.

Ryou took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

Marik stumbled into the room. Aknadin closed the door and he heard the lock click into place.

"Marik, are you okay?"

Marik looked up to see Yami walking over to him. Bakura was sitting on the couch, watching him.

There was hidden concern in his eyes, but Marik knew he wouldn't act on it.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What happened to your arm?" Yami asked, looking at Marik's arm. Marik looked down at his arm to see what it looked like.

Blood was already seeping through the bandages, which were wrapped tightly around the whole of each arm from his shoulder to his wrists.

He could feel the salt on the wounds, pressed closer to them by the bandages. His arms were burning from the pain.

"Oh yeah," he choked out, his throat aching.

"What did he do?" Yami took Marik's arm by his wrist, examining it.

"Ripped it open and then poured salt over it," Marik muttered. "But I'm fine now. Really."

Yami gave him a disbelieving look. "Marik, you're voice is still hoarse from screaming," Bakura said, standing up.

Marik pulled his arm away from Yami. "I'm  _fine_ ," he insisted. "I just need to wash them."

He began walking towards the bathroom. Bakura caught his wrist. "Marik, whatever he said-"

"He didn't say anything."

"Bullshit."

"No, he really didn't say anything," Marik replied.  _That was probably the worst of it…_

Bakura hesitated, eyes narrowed before he released Marik's wrist. "Just don't do anything stupid."

Marik smirked. "Since when do you care?"

"I don't."

"Good." Marik turned and strode into the bathroom. He unwound the bandages with a hiss of pain before washing the wounds. The salt and dried blood alike washed down the drain. He looked at the wounds closely.

His arm had been shredded. There were some light wounds and other deep ones. He sighed. It wouldn't matter anyway.

He looked at the sink. Resting on the porcelain surface was one of Bakura's treasured knives.

His face was blank as he picked it up. He pressed the tip of his finger to it to test its sharpness. Blood welled up as it pierced his flesh. Perfect.

He held out his arm. None of it would matter again.


	7. Chapter 7

**CW: Electrocution, Malik's initiation flashbacks, PTSD, physical/emotional abuse, death (familial, car crash)**

* * *

 

Yugi watched as Ryou took the key out of his pocket and stared at the front door. He put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We can do this tomorrow if you want..."

Ryou swallowed and shook his head. "If I don't do it now, I'll just keep putting it off. I don't want to be a burden on you and your grandfather."

"You're not a burden," Yugi protested.

Still, Ryou shook his head. He took a deep breath and inserted the key into the door, turning it. It didn't do anything. The door was already unlocked.

They shared a look before Ryou pushed the door open. The house was silent. The scent of alcohol was heavy in the air and there were several glasses and lamps smashed on the floor that no one had bothered to clean up.

A pair of boxers lay on the floor that were far too big to be Ryou's and one of his bookshelves had fallen to the ground.

Ryou took a few steps into the house, careful not to step on the broken glass or porcelain. "Hello?" His call was met by silence. "I'm home..." Again, silence.

"Looks like she's gone," Yugi mumbled, looking around.

Ryou shook his head. "She could be upstairs..." He walked upstairs with Yugi following. Everything upstairs was a mess. The shower head was broken and the toilet was blocked. The majority of Ryou's things had been broken and a few of his books were ripped apart. His bed was still in one piece, but it was covered in a flaky white substance.

Yugi didn't want to know what that was. Ryou cringed in disgust and closed the door. "I'll clean it up later..."

The guest room had been locked, as it always was when no one was staying in it. Akane either hadn't found where the spare key was or she wasn't bothered enough to wreck it, for when they opened the door, the room was just as it had been when Ryou had left.

Ryou looked at the final door. His parents' room. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door. The floor was littered with used syringes and empty bottles, both from pills and alcohol.

The bed was unmade, but empty. Yugi smiled feebly. "She's gone."

Ryou nodded in agreement and returned the smile. "Yeah." He closed the door again and looked at the hall. "I guess I'd better clean up... Thanks for all your help, Yugi."

Yugi shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere. Remember; I said I'd spend the night if she was gone. I'll help you clean up."

Ryou hesitated and looked at him. "Are you sure?"

Yugi smiled and nodded. "Of course. It's the least I can do to thank you for helping out at the game shop." Ryou began to protest but Yugi cut him off. "Let's just clean your house up, okay? We can call Malik too and see if he can come over to watch a film."

A moment later, Ryou nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Yugi."

"Anytime." He pulled out his phone. "I'll call Malik; you get some trash bags so we can pick up the glass."

Ryou nodded and went downstairs as Yugi punched in Malik's familiar number. It rang twice before Malik picked up. " _Hello?"_

"Hey, Malik. You busy?"

_"Nah; I haven't even gotten home yet. What's up?"_

"Nothing much. We just got back to Ryou's house." Yugi looked around. "It's a mess. We're about to start cleaning it up. Do you want to come over and help out? We can watch a movie afterwards."

Malik hesitated.  _"Sure; why the hell not. I'll be there in ten."_

"Great." Yugi grinned. "See you then." He hung up and went downstairs. Ryou was already picking up the broken shards and throwing them into the bag. "Malik's on his way; he said he'd help," Yugi said, kneeling down next to Ryou.

"You really didn't need to do all this," Ryou said, looking up at him.

"Of course I did," Yugi protested. "We're friends, right? This is what friends are for. We help each other out."

Ryou nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Yugi."

Yugi returned the smile. "Anytime."

* * *

Just as the blade touched Marik's skin, a hand grabbed his arm and forced the knife away from his wrist.

His head shot up and he glared at Yami. "What the hell was that for?"

"Are you insane?" Yami returned the glare and pried the knife from Marik's hand. Marik went to grab it again, but Yami hid it behind his back.

"Give me the knife," Marik hissed.

"No."

He lunged at Yami, but the latter sidestepped out of the way to reveal Bakura, who pinned Marik to the wall.

"Let go!" Marik thrashed to try and get free. Bakura gritted his teeth, using all of his strength to keep Marik in place.

"Marik, this isn't the way out!" Yami insisted, holding up the knife. The words 'Tomb Robber' glinted on it in the dim light. The gift he had given Bakura for Christmas.

Marik scowled and looked away. "What would you know, Pharaoh?" He spat. "It's not like you've gone through what we have." Something flashed in Yami's eyes but it was gone before Marik could figure out what it was.

"So what if I haven't? I still know that this isn't the way to go!" Yami snapped. "Do you want to give them the pleasure of knowing they broke you?"

"I don't give a flying monkey's ass what they think after I'm gone!" Marik yelled. "If I do this, I'll never need to go through that again!"

"You're a fool if you think that," Bakura hissed. "You really think we're about to let our own brother die?"

"What happened to not caring?" Marik glared at him.

Bakura made no move to protect his previous statement. "Even if we let you do this, they'd find out and they'd make sure that you didn't die," Yami said. "Do you think they'd let that go unpunished? You'd die because of them! Not on your own terms!"

Marik struggled for another minute before his body went slack. His head was lowered, his bangs hiding his eyes. "I just want out. I can't deal with this anymore..."

"Yugi and his friends will get us out," Bakura insisted. "We just need to keep going for a few more days. Then we'll be free."

Marik sighed and shoved Bakura aside. He didn't bother trying to retrieve the knife. He just went over to his bed and lay down, closing his eyes. He was so very tired.

* * *

"Finished!" Yugi cheered as they threw the last black bag into the bin. Malik looked around. They had cleaned up the entire house.

The broken bookshelves and torn books had to be thrown out as well, much to Ryou's disappointment, but the glass and broken lamps were gone, and as were the ruined sheets.

With the exception of a few missing objects, the house looked just as it had before Akane had arrived.

"That took longer than I thought," Ryou sighed, sitting down on the couch.

"No kidding." Malik plopped down beside him. "Your mom really screwed the place over." Ryou acted as though he had never said the last part of his statement.

"What would you like to drink?"

"No, no, no," Yugi cut him off. "You guys did most of the cleaning, so I'm making the drinks. So what do you want?"

"But-" Ryou began only to sigh as Yugi gave him a pointed look. "Tea please."

"I'll just have some water," Malik said as Yugi looked at him. Yugi beamed and nodded, walking into the kitchen. "Should we pick out a film?"

"Sure." Ryou smiled and nodded. Malik didn't even say anything against horror as Ryou stood up and walked over to the DVD rack. "How about... Minions?"

"Hell no!" Malik glared. "We are burning that disk as soon as we get the chance."

Ryou rolled his eyes. "I'm not burning a DVD just because you don't like it, Malik. I'll sell it later instead. Someone online will buy it." He looked at the rack again. "The Hobbit?"

"Seen it."

"Mulan?"

"Romance."

"It's not even-!" Ryou cut himself off and sighed. "Fine. Pixels?"

Malik frowned. "How do you have that? It's still in cinemas."

Ryou smiled. "I have my ways." He picked out another one. "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog?"

Malik paused. "...What?"

Ryou shook his head and put it back. "How about the Shawshank Redemption?"

"How about something more light-hearted?" Yugi suggested as he came back into the room with the drinks.

"Agreed." Malik nodded, taking the water.

Ryou rolled his eyes. "You two are impossible to find a movie for." He looked at the rack. "The Cell?"

Malik blinked. "What's that about?"

Ryou looked at the back. "Something about trying to find where a comatose serial killer has hidden his latest victim."

"Sure." Malik shrugged. Ryou put the DVD into the VCR.

Yugi snorted, though not maliciously. "You guys are unbelievable. I thought you were going for light-hearted?"

"Yeah, but you know you love us anyway," Ryou chuckled as he took the tea from Yugi.

Yugi gave an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose so." He grinned and Malik pressed the play button on the remote.

All was going well. They were passing around a bar of chocolate Yugi had found in the kitchen as they watched, commenting on this and that when there were less suspenseful parts.

Then came the part where the main protagonist tried to enter the innocent part of the killer's mind.

_"Odion, help me!"_

The killer's father had abused him for years.

_"Lie still you little brat!"_

Things had grown too much for him.

_"You will take part in the ceremony! You will carry on our religion!"_

He had snapped.

 _"You don't get a choice in the matter! You don't_ deserve  _a choice!"_

Malik gulped and stood up. "I-I need to get some more water..."

Ryou looked up at him and paused the movie. "Malik, is everything okay?"

"Yeah." Malik nodded, his face pale. "I just need a minute." He walked into the kitchen without another word.

* * *

_"What is it?"_

Joey could hear the clicking of a computer keyboard in the background. He smirked. "Well aren't you a bucket full of cheer today?"

_"Cut to the chase, Wheeler. I'm running a-"_

"Multi-trillion yen company, yeah I know," Joey sighed. "You remind me every day."

_"And you keep calling me because...?"_

"I don't hear you telling me not to." His response was met by silence. He smirked again. "Thought so."

" _Just tell me what you want."_

Joey sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I haven't exactly got my Christmas homework done yet and everyone's saying that it took them ages."

_"So you want me to help you?"_

"Please?" Joey whined. "School's the day after tomorrow; I haven't had time to get it done!"

Joey expected Seto to tell him to find someone else to help him and then hang up. Instead Seto paused. The clicking in the background died down to silence. _"Fine."_

Joey blinked. "Really?"

 _"Sure,"_  Seto agreed.  _"But you need to come up to my mansion if you want me to help you."_

Joey grinned despite himself. "Deal! I'll be there by eight."

 _"Don't be late,"_ Seto warned before hanging up.

* * *

Bakura's eyes shot open as he felt someone grip his arm. He looked up. Aknadin's face leered down at him.

Panic gripped him and he wrenched his arm away. "Stay away from me!"

"Now 'Kura, why would I do that?" Aknadin smirked and reached out for his arm again. Bakura scrambled away from him. "Don't be like that." His eyes glinted. "Or things will get a lot worse for you."

"Leave him alone."

Bakura's head snapped to the side. Yami was standing beside him.  _He was awake?_

Aknadin scowled. "Step aside, Yami."

"I'm not letting you take him anywhere." Yami's reply was firm.

Marik was still asleep. Yami had gotten him to take a sleeping tablet before bed so he would be out cold for a while.

Aknadin smirked. "Then you'll be taking his punishment."

"What for?" Aknadin raised an eyebrow. "What's he being punished for?"

"That's none of your business."

"Then I'll take it."

Bakura and Aknadin both looked at Yami like he was crazy. He  _was_ crazy.

"Yami, leave it. I'll be fine," Bakura began but Yami stepped in front of him.

His glare never wavered as Aknadin's look of disbelief became a smirk. "Very well then." He grabbed Yami's wrist. "If you have such a large death wish, be my guest." He dragged Yami out the door.

Bakura stared at the closed door for a minute. "Shit..."

* * *

Halfway through the second film, Duke's phone began to vibrate. "Holy shit," Tristan cursed, jumping as it buzzed.

Being the only two in the theatre for Insidious Three did not do anything good for their nerves and the phone didn't help matters.

Duke frowned and looked at the screen. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he said, standing up.

"You sure?" Tristan asked. "You can call them back later."

"Nah; just fill me in when I come back." He grinned before making his way down the steps.

Tristan watched as he left the theatre. The emptiness seemed to grow more and more noticeable as the movie wore on. When the lights began flickering, Tristan stood up to check on Duke. He looked at his watch. It had been nearly twenty minutes since he had left.

After leaving the theatre, Tristan looked around, trying to find Duke. It was a late show, so the cinema was almost empty. There was no sign of Duke's telltale black ponytail of hair.

Tristan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe the bathroom?" Nodding, he walked over to the bathroom. Once again, it seemed to be devoid of life. Just as Tristan was about to give up and call Duke, he heard a soft sob from the last cubicle. "Duke?" No reply. Tristan went up to the last stall and knocked on the door. "Duke, you in there?"

"Y-yeah..." Duke sniffed. "I'll be out in a minute..."

Tristan heard shuffling before the door unlocked. Duke's hair was a mess and his eyes were bloodshot. His nose was red and his skin was pale. "Shit, what happened?"

Duke swallowed and shook his head. "Forget about it. Let's just go back and finish the film."

"Screw the film." Tristan gripped Duke's arms, preventing him from moving around him. "Duke, what's going on?"

Duke bit his lower lip. "I told you. Forget it."

"I'm not going to just forget something that's making you cry," Tristan insisted.

Duke squeezed his eyes shut. "Tristan, please, leave it."

"No!" Tristan backed Duke into the cubicle and locked the door behind them. "Tell me what's going on!"

Duke glared at him and looked up. Possibly debating if he could get out of the situation. After a minute, he sighed, his shoulders slumping. "M-my dad..." Tears welled up in his eyes again. "He was killed... He was trying to promote a new game in Ireland and some guy hit him with a car when he was driving through Kerry... His bike flipped over and crushed him..." The tears spilled down his cheeks. "Dammit..." He looked down, squeezing his eyes shut.

Tristan's eyes widened and he wrapped his arms around Duke. Duke leaned into the embrace, gripping Tristan's shirt in his clenched fists.

A choked sob escaped his throat and he buried his head in Tristan's chest. "D-Dammit... W-Why did he need to g-go?"

Tristan rubbed slow circles into Duke's back. "He needed to for work."

"B-But..." Duke gritted his teeth. "H-He's gone..."

"I know." Tristan rested his chin on the crown of Duke's head. "I know." He felt Duke's tears soak his t-shirt but he merely held the boy closer. "It's okay to cry."

"I know," Duke whispered. After a while, his tears began to slow to a halt. He looked up at Tristan. "Thanks."

Tristan's smile was soft. "There's no need to thank me."

"Of course there is."

He chuckled. "You're welcome." He met Duke's gaze. He was so vulnerable right now. But even so, Tristan couldn't help but let his mind wander. His eyes trailed down to Duke's lips.

The distance between them closed without either of them noticing and Tristan pressed his lips to Duke's.

Duke's eyes slid shut and he returned the kiss, with a soft moan. He opened his eyes and looked up at Tristan. Then he suddenly broke the kiss. He looked away from Tristan. Tristan released him. "Duke, I didn't mean-"

Duke ignored him and pushed past him, unlocking the door. Tristan caught his wrist before he could leave. Dukes eyes were blank. "I need to go."

"I'm sorry," Tristan blurted out before Duke could leave.

Duke just shook Tristan's hand away. "I need to think about things, okay? I'll call you when I'm ready to talk." He shoved his hands in his pockets and left.

Tristan groaned and sat down on the closed toilet, running a hand through his hair.  _I'm such an idiot..._

* * *

The second Joey walked into the mansion, Seto pinned him to the wall. "What the hell?" Joey yelled, wincing in pain as his back hit the wall.

"What's going on?" Seto narrowed his eyes.

"You're asking  _me_?" Joey snapped, glaring at him. "What's going on with you attacking me like that?"

"Where are you getting all of those bruises from?" Seto pressed, ignoring Joey's outrage.

Joey tensed. "I'm just getting into a few fights every now and again. Nothing to worry about."

"Who with?" Seto's eyes were now icy slits of blue. "Whenever you come over here, my limo driver drops you home. You're always home when you call. I asked your friends; they haven't seen you since Christmas. Your sister says you haven't left the house unless it's to visit her at the hospital or come to my house. So where in God's name are you getting them?"

"It's none of your business!" Joey snapped back.

"I'm making it my business," Seto growled. "Now either you tell me where you're getting them, or you're not leaving this house – forget that, this  _room_  – until you do!"

Joey swallowed, rage replaced by fear in his eyes. "You don't get it. I can't. He'll  _kill_  me."

"Who will?" Seto pressed, loosening his grip on Joey's shoulders. Joey looked down. "Joey, look at me." Joey hesitated before meeting his gaze. "No matter who it is, I promise that both you and your sister will be safe from him."

Joey's gaze ravaged his for any trace of deceit. Finding none, he closed his eyes. "My dad."

* * *

Aknadin threw Yami into the chair. "Take off your shirt."

Yami blinked. "What?"

"You heard me." Aknadin watched him with blank eyes. "Take it off."

Yami folded his arms. "No."

"Take it off or I'll cut it off you myself." Aknadin picked up a pair of scissors on the bench and advanced on Yami. Yami hesitated before pulling it off. "Good boy."

Aknadin proceeded to strap Yami's wrists and ankles to the chair. Yami didn't bother struggling. It would only make the experience worse. Aknadin walked behind the chair.

Yami strained his neck to try and see what he was doing and he saw a brief glimpse of a car battery, but a black cloth covered his eyes before he could see anything else. "No peeking," Aknadin scolded, tying the blindfold tightly behind Yami's head. Yami felt cold crocodile teeth clasp down on his nipples and he gritted his teeth in pain. "Oh, this is only the beginning," Aknadin chuckled. "I didn't think you'd be this sensitive after everything."

Yami ground his teeth together, glaring at Aknadin, though he knew that the blindfold covered it.

He heard two loud 'clicks' behind him. "Get ready, nephew," Aknadin called before a third click was heard. This was different to the others. It sounded like a switch being flipped.

The pain took a minute to reach Yami. Then electricity rocketed through his body and he let out a scream of utter pain. Within seconds, he had given in to the darkness.

* * *

Ryou followed Malik into the kitchen. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Too bad." Ryou put his hand on Malik's shoulder, turning him around. "What was that about?"

"Nothing," Malik replied. "I just wanted more water." He held up his empty glass and turned around again, filling it with tap water. "Besides, don't people usually avoid telling their ex-boyfriends secrets?"

Ryou felt a pang of hurt hit him. "Malik, we dated for two weeks and we both agreed it wasn't working, so don't try to pull that one on me."

"I wasn't trying to pull anything." Malik shrugged. "I just don't want to tell you."

There was a moment of silence. "Is it to do with your back?"

Malik tensed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ryou could see Yugi looking between them, unsure what to say. "Malik, you were freaking out because of the movie."

"Ryou, just drop it, alright?" Malik snapped.

"We just want to help," Yugi protested.

"Yeah, well you're not." The pang of hurt hit Ryou again. He could see it flash through Yugi's eyes as well. Malik sighed, looking down. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I just... I don't want to talk about it. If I do, I'll get in trouble."

"We won't tell anyone," Yugi insisted. "We never do."

Malik looked back at him. "But-"

"Please, Malik." Ryou met his gaze. "You're our friend."

Malik's body relaxed after a minute. "Fine. It just gave me a flashback of the Ceremony. You know it's coming up again soon. I'm nervous about it. My dad always does something 'religious' on that day, and it usually involves me."

"Why don't you just stay at one of our houses that day?" Yugi suggested.

"I've already been staying out as long as I can," Malik mumbled. "I've been avoiding the house as much as possible. Odion's trying to help, but Ishizu's kind of wary. You know how much she believes dad when he calls his cult a religion. I think she believes in it more than he does." A humourless laugh escaped him and he hugged himself. "I just don't know what to do..."

Yugi and Ryou shared a look before gently pulling Malik into a comforting embrace. "It'll be okay," Ryou murmured, stroking his hair. "We'll find a way to get you out of it."

Yugi nodded in agreement. "And it won't always be like this."

Malik sniffed, a small smile on his face. "Thanks, guys. I'm sorry."

"No need, Mal. No need."

* * *

Bakura's head shot up as the door swung open. Yami hit the ground with a loud thud. Bakura's eyes widened and he ran over to him.

"Don't bother," Aknadin snorted. "He's out cold. Probably will be like that until morning."

Bakura glared at him. "What the hell did you do to him?"

Aknadin chuckled, his eyes glinting with a dangerous sparkle. "Believe me." He kicked Yami's side, turning him onto his side. "What I did to him will be nothing compared to what I'm about to do to you."

Bakura's eyes widened and he took a step back. "Stay away."

"Haven't we done this before?" Aknadin hummed, grabbing him. "Oh yes. Earlier today. Well guess what? Neither of your brothers are coming to your rescue this time, 'Kura." He yanked Bakura out of the attic and slammed the door closed behind them. "I've been waiting a long time for this, 'Kura. You're in for a real treat."


	8. Chapter 8

**CW: Deep cutting, scarring, murder, manipulation, mentions of Joey's dad, mentions of Kul Elna, mentions of initiation (Malik)**

* * *

Bakura cringed as his wrists were bound by rough rope and he was pushed against the wall face-first. "Don't turn around," Aknadin warned in a growl.

Bakura swallowed, squeezing his eyes shut. He heard Aknadin walk over to the table and there was a quiet 'sheen' sound.

Aknadin returned and Bakura tensed as the blade of a dagger was placed at the top of his back. "Do you remember that night?"

Bakura's eyes widened and he shook his head. The knife was dragged down his back in a straight line and he yelped.

"I think you do, 'Kura." Aknadin smirked, placing the knife near the fresh wound at the top of his back. "How your mother woke you up in a panic and told you to hide with your brother?"

Once again, Bakura shook his head. Aknadin dragged the knife down again, this time making two lines. One vertical and one horizontal at the bottom of it.

"You ran out to find him. You didn't know what was going on, but you hid when he told you to."

Bakura bit his lip. The knife was plunged into his back again. Four lines this time.

"You heard all of my followers but you didn't move. Even when you heard your dear mother's screams."

Tears burned the edges of Bakura's eyes but he refused to let them fall. Another wound. Three lines.

"You managed to hide from everyone, but when you and Akefia came out from whatever bush or tree you were hiding in, you stepped in blood." Another wound. Two lines. "Didn't you?" Another wound. Two lines.

Bakura squeezed his eyes shut again. He could feel the sticky substance around his feet even now; not dried yet, but half-way there. Pooled on the ground like water after a storm. Lines of dead bodies on the streets.

"Then you saw us leading the survivors to the cave." Another wound. Three lines. "You and your brother followed us." Another wound. Four lines. "You didn't know how you weren't caught by soldiers since you were always caught by the people who worked in the market on Sundays when you tried to steal something." Another wound. Four lines.

_Stop..._

"You watched as we killed them." Another wound. Three lines. "You watched as mothers were forced to kill their children." Another wound. Two lines. "You watched as they wailed over their loss." Another wound. Two lines. "Such an annoying sound." Another wound. Two lines.

Bakura was beginning to go numb. The pain wasn't as bad. The physical pain anyway.

"You wanted to help but you couldn't." Another wound. A circle. "You were too young." Another wound. A semicircle. "Too weak." Another wound. One line. "And then you were found." The knife was held teasingly over his back.

_Stop._

"Your brother told you to run. And you did." Another wound. One line. "You left him behind." Another wound. One line at the top of the last one. "He told me all of this when I questioned him." Another wound. One line in the middle. "And you've always lived with the hope that he's still alive, haven't you?" Aknadin leaned close to Bakura's ear. "Well let me put your mind at ease. I killed Akefia Touzoku." A final wound. A line at the bottom.

A tear leaked out of Bakura's eye and he bit his lower lip. Aknadin stepped back and surveyed his work. "Perfect." He took out his phone and Bakura heard the click of a camera. The phone was held in front of his eyes. "Look at it, 'Kura."

Bakura raised his gaze and looked at the screen. It was his back. The wounds were too deep to heal. They would only scar over. A constant reminder of what happened. Just like his memories. The two would co-exist forever.

Carved onto his back were the words 'I LEFT THEM ALL TO DIE'.

* * *

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.

_"Hi! You've reached Duke. Sorry, I can't come to the phone but if you leave your name and number-"_

"Dammit!" Tristan sighed and hung up. "He's still not answering..."

"Maybe you should try calling him off someone else's phone?" Anzu suggested as she sat down, pulling her hair free of the yellow scarf tying it back.

"You can use mine if you want," Ryou offered, holding his phone out to Tristan.

Tristan hesitated before nodding. "Thanks, Ryou." He took the phone and punched in Duke's number.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.

_"Hi! You've reached Duke. Sorry, I can't come to the phone-"_

"Nope." Tristan hung up and passed it back to Ryou.

Malik offered him his old Nokia. "Here. He might be avoiding any number saved into his phone. I just got a new sim card and he doesn't have my number yet."

"Thanks." Tristan took Malik's phone and punched in Duke's number.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.

_"Hi! You've reached Duke. Sorry, I can't-"_

"Damn it!" Tristan hung up and slammed the phone down on the table.

"Hey! Do you know how expensive those things are?" Malik protested, snatching his phone back.

Yugi tilted his head as Tristan mumbled an apology. "Why isn't he answering his phone anyway? He always answers calls in case it's business."

Tristan shook his head. "I messed up."

"Like a waiter when he brings you and Joey the wrong food order bad, or Kaiba's new secretary when she accidentally deleted everything on his computer bad?" Malik asked.

"Picture the two combined." Malik nodded, cringing. "Now double it." Tristan let his head drop onto the table with a groan.

"You really screwed up." Malik took a sip of his milkshake.

Tristan gave him a dry look. " _Really_?"

"No need to get sarcastic. I'm just pointing it out." Malik shrugged. He glanced at Yugi's phone, which was lying on the table between the two. "You've got a new message."

"Is it Duke?" Tristan sat bolt upright.

Yugi checked his phone and groaned. "Marik..."

"One of Yami's brothers?" Ryou blinked as Tristan buried his head in his arms again.

"Yeah," Yugi sighed. "I wouldn't mind but he texts me the most random things for absolutely no reason." He looked at the text again before shoving his phone in Malik's direction. "Here. You talk to him."

Malik's eyes widened. "No way. Your phone. Your contact. Your problem." He shoved it back at Yugi.

"No; I've dealt with him for the past week. Your turn." He shoved it back.

"You were the one who saved his number." Malik shoved it back.

Yugi stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom. You text him back."

"But-"

"You owe me!" Yugi gave him a pointed look. "Remember that time we went skiing for Christmas?"

Malik blushed darkly. He looked at Ryou. There was a small smirk on the albino's lips. "Don't look at me. I'm not getting you out of this."

Malik groaned and picked up Yugi's phone. "Fine."

Yugi grinned and walked over to the bathroom.

Tristan raised an eyebrow. "What happened on that trip?" He mumbled to Ryou.

Malik gave Ryou a warning look. Ryou shook his head, still smirking. "Not my story to tell."

Malik let out a soft breath of relief and glanced at Yugi's phone.

_**Hey, Yugi! Throw the cheese!** _

Malik chuckled.  **Sorry, Psycho. This isn't Yugi.**

_**But this is his number. Did you steal his phone?** _

**No; he just doesn't want to talk to you.**

_**That hurts. :'(** _

Malik grinned.  **I'm Malik.**

_**Oh yeah, you're one of his friends. I'm Marik. And I baked you a pie!** _

**Oh boy, what flavour?**

_**PIE FLAVOUR!** _

Malik's grin returned full-force.  **I don't get why he doesn't want to talk to you. You're funny.**

_**Really? Most people find me annoying. I like you. You're nice.** _

**Aw, thanks. :) That means a lot.**

_**Hey, can I have your number? I want to keep texting you. You're the only person I know who's watched ASDF.** _

Malik rolled his eyes.  **I know; they're so underrated in this country. And sure. 03-5867-4865.**

_**Great! I'll text you later so you get my number. :D I need to go now though. Bye.** _

**Talk to you later.**  Malik almost put the phone down but then Yugi's phone buzzed a final time.

_**By the way; I lost the Game.** _

"Gods damn it!" Malik cursed.

Everyone jumped. "What is it?" Ryou asked, looking worried.

"I lost the friggin' game."

Everyone groaned. "Damn it, Malik! I had almost beaten my record!" Tristan whined, glaring at him.

Malik shrugged. "Sorry. Blame it on Marik; he made me lose it."

"Okay, stop talking about it! Yugi's still going strong!" Anzu pointed out as Yugi returned to the table.

"What are you talking about?" Yugi blinked.

"Malik made us lose the game," Tristan sighed only to clap a hand over his mouth.

Yugi groaned and hit his head off the table. "So close..."

Ryou patted his shoulder gently. "It's the one game that even you can't win."

* * *

Joey groaned as he woke up. He looked around. He was lying in a king-sized bed with comfortable sheets. His wounds had been treated and the majority of them had been bandaged.

There was a glass of water sitting on the nearby bedside table, along with two small white pills. Joey reached forward and picked the pills and glass up, downing the former with a mouthful of water.

He lay back in the bed for a minute, eyes closed. Then they flashed open again. _I never went home last night._  He kicked off the heavy blanket and stumbled over to the door, pulling it open.

A familiar hallway that stretched out on either side greeted him. He looked to the left. A sign hung on the nearest door reading 'Mokuba's Room' painted a variety of colours with a crudely drawn Blue Eyes White Dragon under the writing.

He looked to the right. There were two doorways, one on either side. Both had white doors. One was open. Seto's bedroom. The other was closed. Seto's study.

Most of the time, he moved between the two rooms and going downstairs to leave for school. Joey doubted that Seto had even been in half of his house in the past year.

Shaking his head, Joey walked over to Seto's study. Whichever room Seto was in always had the door closed.

Sure enough, when he walked into the study, Seto was inside on the computer. "You're fired," he said without looking up.

"I don't even work for you."

"You're still fired."

"How does that even work?" Seto didn't reply, continuing to type. Joey sighed. "Look, thanks for helping me yesterday, but I need to go."

At that, Seto stopped and looked up at him. "Go where?"

"Home," Joey mumbled. "My dad'll kill me if I don't."

Seto watched him with a blank expression for a minute before standing up. He walked over to the door, closed it and walked over to Joey.

Then with slow, deliberate movements, he pushed Joey against the wall. His grip wasn't tight, but Joey didn't fight it.

"Get this into your head, mutt," he said. "You're not going back there. I'm not letting him hurt you again."

"If I don't go back, he'll just wait for me at school," Joey protested.

"I don't care," Seto replied. "I'll give you a bodyguard if I need to. You're staying here and he's not going to hurt you again."

"But-"

Joey was cut off as Seto pressed a soft kiss to his lips. When Seto pulled back, he looked Joey in the eyes. "I won't let you get hurt again."

Joey hesitated. "Promise?"

"I promise." Seto kissed him again. This time, Joey returned it.

* * *

_**Favourite food?** _

Malik grinned.  **Chocolate. Favourite song?**

_**My Eyes from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Don't judge. XP Favourite person?** _

Malik hesitated, biting his lip.  **You** , he typed in but he erased it before it could send.

There was a knock on his door and Malik hid his phone under the book of ancient scriptures that he was supposed to be studying. "Come in."

Ishizu pushed open the door and walked in. "Why didn't you come home last night?"

"I was staying over at Ryou's with Yugi," Malik replied, not looking up from the book. "Didn't you get my text?"

Ishizu pursed her lips. "No. I didn't. Father's not happy with you."

Malik's head shot up. "You told him?"

"What did you expect me to do, brother?" Ishizu frowned at him. "You know one of the ten sins is betrayal."

"You wouldn't have been betraying him by making up something," Malik muttered. "He's betrayed us enough times for whoever the hell we're supposedly worshipping to cross a tiny white lie out."

"Malik; don't disrespect Alumuna," Ishizu growled, her frown becoming a glare. "She's been very good to her true followers-"

"If there's an Alumuna, then why hasn't she helped us?" Malik shot back. "This whole 'religion' is bull, sister, and you know it as well as I do!"

Ishizu's eyes sparked for a minute. "You may not believe it, Malik," she sniffed. "But I am a true Callian." She turned away from them. "Anyway, I came in to warn you, brother. Father is preparing for the annual tradition."

Malik's face paled as Ishizu left the room. His phone buzzed and he looked at it.

_**Mal? Is everything okay?** _

Malik gulped.  **Not really. My dad started some bullcrap religion and my sister really believes it and they're both trying to force me into it and my brother doesn't really seem to know what he believes in...**

_**That sucks :( It doesn't sound like there's anyone there for you.** _

Malik's heart sank to his stomach.  **There isn't.**

His phone buzzed a minute later.  _ **I'll always be there for you. If you ever need me, just let me know.**_

A smile impossible to stop crept onto his face.  **Thanks, Marik.**

_**No need, Mal. No need.** _

* * *

"I don't know what to do; he's still not back," Yami muttered into the phone, pacing back and forth across the attic.

 _"I'm sure he'll be back soon,"_  Yugi tried to assure him.

Marik watched Yami pacing, his phone lying beside him on the bed.

"But Aknadin took him. What if he went too far this time, or-?"

"Hide your phone," Marik hissed, cutting him off. Yami paused, hearing heavy footsteps. He sat on the couch, his phone beneath him. Marik slid his own phone beneath the mattress.

The door swung open and Bakura stumbled into the room, shirtless. Aknadin stood in the doorway, smirking. "Goodnight, boys. Sleep well." The door closed again.

Marik and Yami ran over to Bakura.

"I-I'm fine." Bakura pushed them away. Or tried to.

His arms shook and his body was too weak to manage to ward them off.

Marik managed to pin Bakura's arms to his sides. Bakura yelped in pain.

Yami frowned in confusion and glanced at his back. His eyes widened. "Marik, get him to the bathroom and bandage his back. Now."

Marik didn't argue, like most times. Instead he pulled Bakura towards the bathroom, careful not to aggravate his injuries.

Yami grabbed his phone again. "Yugi, I need to go. Bakura's... He's hurt. Badly."

 _"Hang on,"_ Yugi said before he could hang up. " _Aknadin and your dad are usually facing you when they hurt you, right?"_

"Yeah."

_"And you can see what they're doing?"_

"Yeah," Yami replied, glancing towards the bathroom. "Is there a point to this?"

He could almost hear Yugi grinning.  _"I think I know how to get you out of there."_

* * *

Tristan wandered around the Kaiba mansion, trying to find Duke. He knew that he was there. He had seen him earlier when he had arrived at Seto's for the New Year's Eve party. He just didn't know  _where_  he was in the mansion.

"Duke, give it up," he sighed. "I know you're here somewhere and I'm going to find you eventually. You know as well as I do that we need to talk."

There was silence for a minute. Tristan was about to continue looking in a different area of the mansion when he heard one of the doors behind him open. "Fine..."

He turned and smiled when he saw Duke. Then his smile disappeared. Duke's frame was thinner than usual, and his skin was paler. His hair was no longer gelled into a high ponytail, but loose around his shoulders, and his emerald eyes were dull. "Duke..."

"Talk." Duke folded his arms, glaring up at Tristan. Well, attempting to glare. There was no anger in his eyes.

There was no  _anything_  in his eyes.

Tristan took a step towards Duke, relaxing a bit when he didn't back away. "Duke... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have kissed you; not then. But I just..."

"You just what?" Something flickered in Duke's eyes. More relief hit Tristan. Anything was better than the blank look Duke was currently donning. "You regret it? You want to just stay friends? You were just experimenting?"

Tristan shook his head. "No."

"No to which one?"

"All of them." Tristan held Duke's gaze. "I wasn't just experimenting. I know I'm bi. I don't want to just stay friends. And I definitely don't regret it."

Duke gritted his teeth, his body tense. "Well what if I did? What if I didn't want anything to do with you?"

"I'd still feel the same way, but I just want you to be happy." Tristan took another step. Duke stayed stationary. "I'd do anything for you, Duke. Even if it meant staying away from you." He took another step. "But I don't think that's what you want." He took one more step so that he and Duke were only inches away from one another. Duke looked away. "No; don't hide from me." He grasped Duke's chin and lifted his head up. "How do you really feel?"

Duke hesitated. Something glimmered in his eyes again and finally the blank look disappeared. "...I don't know..." Tristan wrapped his arms around him and Duke buried his head in Tristan's chest. "I want my dad back..."

"I know," Tristan murmured, rubbing Duke's back. He kissed the top of Duke's head.

Duke blushed and looked up at Tristan. Tristan met his gaze. Duke hesitated before pecking Tristan. "I'm sorry..."

Tristan smiled at him. "No need."

The intercom that seemed to be set up around the house crackled. "Duke; Tristan. Stop making out and get your asses to the living room. Yugi's got an idea," Malik called through the microphone. The sound of the guard telling him to get away from the system could be heard in the background.

Duke and Tristan blushed before making their way to the living room. Everyone was sitting in a circle.

Anzu had just finished painting her toe-nails pink and was sitting on the couch with her feet on the table. Serenity sat beside Anzu, her feet on the ground, her hands in her lap. Joey was sitting next to Seto, his head on the latter's shoulder. Mokuba sat beside his brother. Ryou and Malik sat on either side of Yugi, who was wringing his hands.

Duke and Tristan sat by Joey and Seto. Joey smirked at the two. "Don't you start," Tristan warned him. "You've got no room to say anything after what you told us."

Joey blushed but stayed silent. There was a small, unnoticeable smirk on Seto's lips as Tristan said this.

Yugi cleared his throat and stood up. "I...well, I have, um... an idea to get Yami, Bakura and Marik out of their house..." Anzu grinned at him in an encouraging manner. Yugi licked his lips. "Seto, you've got a bunch of those miniature cameras that your guards have left over, right?" Seto nodded. "And you can't see them once someone's wearing them?"

"Not unless they're wearing white," Seto replied. "Or unless you know exactly where they are."

Yugi nodded. "Do you think you could spare three of them?" Seto nodded. "In that case, we could give them to Marik, Yami and Bakura when Aknadin and Aknamkanon leave the house or go to sleep next. If they all wear one, we can get footage of one of the two hurting them and take it to the police if we're quick. We'd need to all be in contact with them in case someone isn't available and we'd need to be able to go to the police at a moment's notice though..."

"That's fine," Tristan said. "What if you, Malik and Ryou stay at your house and keep in contact with them. Once you get the footage, send it to Seto, Joey, Duke and I. I've got my motorbike, Seto and Joey have got the limos, and Duke lives close to the station. Anzu can keep an eye on their house to make sure nothing else happens."

Yugi smiled. "So you think it'll work?"

"It's unlikely," Seto admitted, closing his eyes. Yugi's smile fell. "But not impossible. And it's the closest that anyone's gotten to a plausible idea yet." He sighed. "I'll give you the cameras for them in the morning." He opened his eyes again and met Yugi's gaze. "Just don't screw this up, Mutou."

Yugi smiled again and nodded. "Don't worry. I won't."

* * *

Yami sat on the couch on one end, and Marik on the other. Bakura was lying down on his side, his head on Yami's lap and his feet on Marik's.

His breathing was slow and deep, and his eyes were closed, but Yami could tell he wasn't asleep. It was nearing midnight. Only one minute to go.

No one said anything. Yami glanced at Bakura's back. It was tightly bandaged. The bandages had been changed twice because of the amount of blood seeping through them, but now they were clean.

The wounds weren't as deep as the ones on Marik's back, but they held just as much pain, and were likely to get infected with the lack of medical supplies that the brothers possessed.

For the past twenty eight hours they had been struggling to stop anything from touching Bakura's back.

Whenever anything did, it would not only cause him physical pain, but emotional pain as well.

Yami glanced at his watch.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

He hoped Yugi – four – was enjoying this day more – three – than they were. Two – he deserved it. One – and so much more.

Zero.

Midnight.

They could hear fireworks going off in the distance, but in the Sennen brothers' attic, the new year started the same way that the old one ended.

In silence.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**CW: R*pe, incest (father-son (non-con)), mentions of murder**

* * *

Ring. Ring.

Marik groaned and opened his eyes.

Ring. Ring.

"Turn off the bloody alarm clock," Bakura muttered.

Ring. It stopped.

Marik closed his eyes again. Ring. Ring.

His eyes flashed open again. "Who turned the alarm clock on again?"

Yami buried his head under his pillow. "Not me," he muttered, though it sounded more like 'muff muh'.

"It's too far away from me," Bakura muttered.

Marik frowned and sat up, looking at the alarm clock. It was off, but the ringing continued.

His eyes widened and he kicked off the blankets, grabbing his phone off the couch and answering the call in order to silence the noise. "Hello?"

"Hey, is this Marik?"

Marik frowned. "Yeah. Who's this?"

"You don't know?" The pout was almost tangible in his voice. "But I baked you a pie…"

Marik grinned. "What flavour?"

"Pie flavour!"

"Malik."

"The one and only." Malik paused and Marik could hear someone telling him something in the background. "Yes, I know. I'm getting to the point now, Ryou," Malik replied, his voice sounding further away. Then he returned. "Yugi has an idea that might get you out of there."

Marik's eyes widened. "Really?" He kept his voice quiet.

"Really," Malik confirmed. "We're going to come over once your dad and whoever's with him leave. We've got mini cameras that you can clip onto your shirt or something and they're really hard to see, and we've got our computers hooked up to them so if either of them try anything, we can send the footage to the police and they can be there within five minutes."

Marik scowled. "The police? They won't be able to do anything!"

"What about the police?" Bakura sat up.

"Marik, calm down," Malik said, half cutting Bakura off.

"They couldn't help us last time," Marik protested. "It was because of them that Atem and Heba died!"

Yami and Bakura were both awake now, watching as Marik's rage grew.

Malik was silent for a moment. "That was because they didn't have proof that anything was going on," he eventually said. "This time they'll have no choice but to go immediately."

"But what if they think it's a prank?" Marik protested.

"Then we'll come in ourselves."

"No." Marik shook his head. "That's exactly what happened last time. You're not getting hurt."

"We won't," Malik insisted. "Marik, this is the best chance you've got at getting out, and if it doesn't work then we'll keep trying until we find something that does! But we have to at least try this."

Marik sighed through his nose and looked over at Bakura and Yami. "Cameras. Go to the police. Police come here. What do you think?"

Yami hesitated. "…It might work…"

"If it does, we're out. If not, we're in the same position as before," Bakura muttered. "We're not losing anything if it doesn't."

Marik and Yami chose not to correct him. They all knew what would happen if it didn't work.

Aknamkanon had made it very clear the last time what he would do if they ever tried to escape again.

But none of them wanted to say it.

They didn't need to.

"Okay," Marik said, putting the phone to his ear again. "We'll try it."

"We're camping out at Yugi's so we'll be over once they leave," Malik promised. "And Marik?"

"Hm?"

"You promised you'd be there for me. Don't think that's a one-way thing. I'm getting you out of there. I promise."

Marik smiled. "Thanks, Mal."

"Don't thank me yet. I'll see you soon."

"Yeah. See you then." Marik hung up and sighed through his nose before flopping face first onto his bed again.

"What are you doing?" Bakura frowned.

"Sleeping. Or trying to."

"Shouldn't we do something?"

Marik propped himself up on his elbows. "Fluffy, there's nothing we can do. This is happening whether we like it or not. If it's a repeat of Atem and Heba, it is. If not, then we're out. Pacing isn't going to change anything." Marik flopped back down onto his pillow. "Wake me when they're here. If we die, I'd at least like to see someone outside of this house."

_I'd like to see Malik._

* * *

"Are they gone yet?" Malik's voice was oozing impatience.

Ryou sighed and looked out the window again. "No- hang on…" He paused and watched as two figures emerged from the house across the road. "I think they're leaving…"

One of the two looked up at the window and for a brief moment, his dual-coloured gaze met Ryou's.

Ryou squeaked and ducked down.

"What's wrong?" Yugi peeked outside from the left of the window to see the figure turning away. "That must be Yami's uncle…" He mumbled as the two climbed into the car.

"Who cares?" Malik muttered, looking outside as the car backed onto the street. "The important thing is that they're gone."

"But his uncle saw me," Ryou said, standing up again.

"Doesn't matter." Malik shrugged as the car drove out of sight. "They're gone now, right?"

"I guess…"

Yugi grabbed the small box of cameras. "Come on; let's get these to Yami and his brothers before they come back."

Ryou and Malik nodded, following Yugi downstairs.

"Where are you three off to?" Solomon called from the couch.

Yugi froze before turning to smile at his grandfather. "We're just going to go for a walk."

Solomon nodded and turned back to the television. "Don't get in any trouble, and call me if you need anything."

"Will do!" Yugi replied before hurrying outside with Malik and Ryou. His face fell once he closed the door. "I hate lying to him…"

"You're not really lying to him," Malik pointed out. "Technically we are going for a walk."

"I guess…" Yugi shook his head. "Come on." They ran across the street until they were just under the attic window. "Yami! Marik! Bakura! One of you open the window!"

There was a pause before the window was opened and a boy with wild white hair, skin that was just a shade darker than Ryou's and rusty brown eyes looked out. "Shrimp?"

Yugi grinned. "Bakura, right?"

Bakura nodded. "Do you have the cameras?"

"Right here!" Yugi held up the box.

"How are we supposed to get them up to you?" Ryou called.

Bakura's gaze slid from Yugi to Ryou and he paused. "Blondie can lift you, and you can lift the shrimp and we'll try to grab it."

"If that's so easy then why don't you just climb out of the window?" Malik shot back, unsure if he could manage both Ryou and Yugi's weight.

Bakura glared at him and pushed the window out as far as it would go. Not even Yugi would be able to fit through it. "See?"

Malik sighed but nodded. Yugi hesitated before walking over to Ryou, who picked him up before being picked up by Malik.

Malik grimaced, staggering slightly. "You guys are heavy…"

"Hey!"

"Just pointing it out!"

Ryou rolled his eyes and watched as Yugi stretched up, holding the box out to Bakura. Bakura reached down as far as he could and after a few failed attempts, managed to snag the box. "Got it."

Malik sighed in relief and quickly put Ryou down before he dropped the two.

Bakura ducked back into the attic and a new face similar to Yugi's replaced the albino's.

Yugi's face lit up. "Mou Hitori no Boku!"

Yami smiled. "I never got to give you this at Christmas," he called before throwing a neatly wrapped box down to Yugi, who just managed to catch it.

Ryou and Malik smiled as Yugi's face lit up in a bright blush. He opened his mouth to say something only to pause as the rumbling of an engine met their ears.

Ryou looked up to see the blue Corolla driving down the street. "We need to go!"

Yugi nodded and waved at Yami before following Ryou.

A final face popped out just as Yami went back inside. Malik's eyes widened. "Marik…" He smiled at him. "We'll get you out, Marik!"

Marik returned the smile and nodded. "See you soon, Malik-pretty," he replied before closing the window. Marik darted back inside before the figures in the Corolla could spot him.

Ryou raised an eyebrow at Malik. "Malik-pretty?"

Malik blushed even darker than Yugi had moments before. "Shut up."

Ryou turned to Yugi. "So what did he get you?"

Yugi shook his head as he unwrapped the paper and opened the box. Inside was a golden upside-down pyramid attached to a chain.

Malik frowned. "What is it?"

"It's... a puzzle I think," Ryou mumbled as Yugi lifted it out of the box and placed it around his neck.

Yugi smiled. It looked right on him. "I love it..."

* * *

"Okay, I think mine is working," Yami muttered as he fixed the miniature camera onto his choker, where it was least noticeable.

Bakura nodded, still fiddling with his. Marik had gotten his working and fitted first and so was watching the two of them struggle.

Bakura scowled at him. "Would you please help a little?"

Marik smirked. "Where's the fun in that?"

"Where's the fun in not getting out of here because you were too idiotic to help?" Bakura shot back.

Marik narrowed his eyes at Bakura but stood up and helped him turn it on. "There. Happy?"

Bakura just turned away from him and fit it onto the collar of his trench coat. Yami sighed. "You two need to stop arguing. It never goes anywhere and you both just end up pissy because of it."

This statement caused the two to round on him. "What was that?!"

Yami smirked. "You heard me."

Bakura and Marik exchanged a glance before the latter pounced on Yami, sending them both crashing to the floor. After a small scuffle, Marik was able to pin him down.

Bakura strode over with a smirk. "You're going to pay for that comment, Pharaoh."

"Do your worst, Fluffy."

"I intend to." Bakura's smirk grew as he crouched down next to Yami before lunging forward and beginning to tickle him.

Yami's eyes widened and he began squirming, biting his lip in an effort to contain his laughter. "H-Hey, knock it o-off!"

"Nah," Bakura snickered.

Yami tried to kick him off, but Marik sat back on his legs so he couldn't move them. "Y-You're both going to d-d-die painful deaths for this!" Yami laughed as he tried to roll over.

Bakura laughed. "You have no idea how ridiculous that sounded just then." Yami stopped squirming for a moment as Bakura paused only to yelp as Marik joined in.

"I hate you both so much right now!"

"You know you love us," Marik snickered.

"No! I hate you! Hate! Not love!" Yami protested. Bakura rolled his eyes.

However, when he joined Bakura in tickling Yami, Marik's defences fell so Yami was able to squirm out of their grip. "Ha!"

Marik pouted. "Spoil sport."

Yami rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well maybe-" He was cut off as the door was thrown open. His gaze met Aknamkanon's as Bakura and Marik turned to face him.

"Who wants to tell me what just happened outside?" His voice was silky and smooth. That meant he was angrier than usual.

None of them spoke.

Something glinted in Aknamkanon's eyes and he glared at them. "Really? No one?" He sighed. "Fine. Yami; downstairs. Now."

Yami tensed but walked over to the door without looking at his brothers. Marik almost reached out to grab his wrist, but Bakura stopped him with a shake of his head.

Once Yami reached the door, Aknamkanon grabbed his upper arm and yanked him outside, slamming the door shut behind him again.

Bakura stared at the door for a minute before pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Marik asked.

"Texting Yugi," Bakura mumbled in response as he opened his messages and sent one to Yugi.

**Yami's downstairs.**

It was only a few minutes before he got the reply.

_The connections up._

**Be careful.**  Bakura deleted it before it sent. Why should he tell them to be careful? He didn't care about them.

He  _couldn't_  care about them.

The people he cared about always got hurt.

* * *

"Okay, the connections up!" Ryou called to Yugi as the footage from Yami's camera appeared on screen.

Yugi nodded, trying not to look at the screen. "I'll text Seto and Joey. Mal, you text Duke and Tristan."

"On it." Malik nodded and pulled out his phone.

Ryou kept his eyes glued to the screen as they sent the message alerting their friends to get ready. From the way that the camera kept jerking, he deduced that Yami was stumbling; possibly being dragged by someone.

He could see a figure near the edge of the screen, but he didn't know if it was Aknamkanon or Yami's uncle.

"Ryou, press record!" Malik reminded him, snapping him out of his daze.

"Right; sorry." Ryou quickly hit the button just as a door was opened and Yami was thrown into a dark room.

Yugi glanced over at the screen. "…Do you think he'll be okay?"

Neither Ryou nor Malik answered, and Yugi didn't ask again.

* * *

As soon as he regained his footing, Yami turned to face Aknamkanon.

Aknamkanon stayed a few metres away from him. Yami was almost surprised that he wasn't being tied down, but he chose not to ask.

It wouldn't do any good.

"That kid from the house across the road," Aknamkanon began, his voice echoing off the walls. "What was he doing outside the house?"

Yami tensed.  _Yugi._ He didn't say anything.

Aknamkanon hummed and took a step closer to him. "What did you throw down to him?" Yami stayed silent. "If you don't answer, bad things are going to happen, boy. And not just to you."

Yami swallowed, his throat dry. "It was a present. From Christmas. I never got to give it to him before and I saw him passing, so I threw it down to him."

"If he was passing by, then why did he and his friends run when they saw Aknadin and I?" Aknamkanon pressed.

Yami hesitated. "They… had to get their homework done. Their school started today."

"Funny," Aknamkanon hummed. "We passed Domino High School on the way here and there was a notice that said it was starting a day late because the pipes burst. Or did he not mention that?"

Yami gritted his teeth and took a step away from his father only to crash into the wall.

"Why don't you tell me the truth, Yami?"

"I already did," Yami insisted.

Aknamkanon took a few steps forward. "The actual truth." Yami gritted his teeth. "I hope you're not planning on escaping again. You remember what happened to Atem and Heba, don't you?" Yami's hands balled into fists. "I'll take that as a yes." Aknamkanon pinned Yami to the wall. "Now picture their deaths. Do you want that to happen to those kids?" He smirked as Yami looked down. "Then tell me the truth."

After a moment, Yami looked up again, glaring at Aknamkanon. "I already told you the truth."

Aknamkanon's features morphed into a snarl. "Fine. Be that way. But now you have to face the punishment." His hand trailed from Yami's shoulder to his waist.

Yami's eyes widened and he began squirming to get away from Aknamkanon. "Let go!"

"No," Aknamkanon hissed, removing his belt in a swift movement without releasing Yami. When his hand went to the zipper on Yami's trousers, Yami squeezed his eyes shut. Aknamkanon scowled and backhanded him. "You're going to look me in the eyes as I do this to you, boy."

Yami continued squirming, even after Aknamkanon had discarded both of their trousers. There was always a chance that he could slip past him.

But Aknamkanon wasn't Bakura and Marik, and Yami's body was built for agility. Not strength. Aknamkanon had the advantage of weight, size and height.

When he felt the first sharp pain that felt like his insides were being ripped apart, Yami stopped struggling.

It was too late.

* * *

The room was silent. Malik's gaze was on the floor, and his arms were wrapped around Ryou, who had buried his face in Malik's chest.

Silent tears were streaming down Yugi's cheeks as he pressed the button that stopped his laptop from recording anymore.

The scene continued to play out before them. None of them could bear looking at the screen long enough to terminate the connection.

Malik rubbed Ryou's back in slow, gentle movements, feeling the boy shaking. He took his phone out of his pocket and dialled Tristan's number.

Ring. Ring.

_"Hey, Malik."_

Malik swallowed. His throat was dry. "It's done. Get to the police station," he croaked out. "I'll send you guys the file. Call Seto on your way."

" _Got it. What happened?"_

Malik shook his head. "See you later, Tristan."

_"Hey, wai-"_

Malik hung up before Tristan could even finish his sentence. He saved the file to his phone and sent it to Tristan, Duke, Joey and Seto before turning his phone off.

"How could he?" Yugi whispered, his voice shaking.

Malik swallowed again. It didn't get rid of the lump in his throat but it was something. "Because he's a bad person, Yugi…"

"But… But Yami's his son! He didn't do anything…" Yugi squeezed his eyes shut, his fists clenching. "He doesn't deserve this…"

Malik gently pulled Yugi into a hug with his free arm. "I know," he mumbled, his tone soft as he held his two friends.  _But the ones that these things happen to never do…_

* * *

Yami didn't look up as he was thrown into the attic again. He landed limply on the floor, his eyes closed.

He could hear the smirk in his father's voice. "I hope that taught you your lesson Yami." Yami squeezed his eyes shut tighter. "Bakura, with me. Now."

Yami could hear his younger brother's reluctant footsteps.

He should do something. He couldn't let the same thing happen to Bakura.

He couldn't.

He tried to sit up but his body wouldn't obey him.

_Do something! Don't let him go through it too!_

He tried again and managed to push himself up a bit and open his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something.

Aknamkanon looked at him. "Yes?" His gaze pierced Yami's. His smirk was burned into his memory. The words died in Yami's throat. "I thought as much."

They all froze, hearing someone hammer on the door. Aknadin glared at Yami. "That had better not be who I think it is," he snarled before grabbing Bakura and pulling him out of the room.

Once the door had closed, Marik ran over to Yami. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Yami was shaking. Marik reached out to touch his shoulder but he flinched away. "I-I'm sorry…" He croaked out.

"It's okay," Marik murmured. He gently wrapped his arms around Yami, slower this time. Yami was still shaking, but he leaned against Marik. "What did he do?"

Yami shook his head. Tears stung his eyes. "I can't…"

Marik held him closer. "Yes, you can. I won't think any less of you. We've been here too long for that."

Yami swallowed. His tears spilled down his cheeks. "He…" He shook his head. "H-he just… took something…"

Marik tried to meet his gaze but Yami didn't look at him. He couldn't. Marik sighed and held Yami closer, rubbing his back. "It'll be okay, Yami," he mumbled. "We'll be out soon. We'll be okay."

Yami squeezed his eyes shut and nodded, though he wasn't sure if he believed him or not.

He hoped he did.

* * *

"Open this door!" The officer yelled, hammering on the door again.

Yugi watched, holding his breath. His arms were wrapped around himself as he waited. Ryou was still pale and Malik was stony-faced. The two were sticking close to one another.

Yugi didn't blame them.

"Yug', are you okay?"

Yugi looked up to see Joey, Tristan and Duke running up to him. Seto followed at a walk.

Yugi swallowed. "I'll be fine once they're out of there," he whispered.

Joey nodded in understanding. Seto looked over to the police. "Have you gotten inside?"

The chief shook his head. "Not yet."

Seto scowled. "Knock once more. If no one answers, knock the door down."

"But-"

"Did you not see the footage?" Seto snapped. "Their lives are in danger. Now either get in there or I'll have all of you fired. Got it?"

The chief scowled, not pleased with taking orders from a sixteen year old, but as it was Seto Kaiba, there wasn't much he could do.

He turned to the officer at the door and nodded. "Sir, if you refuse to open this door, we will knock it down. You have until the count of three. One." He stepped back. "Two." He pulled out his gun and levelled it at the doorknob. "…Three."

Just before he could shoot it open, it swung open. Yugi looked up to see Aknamkanon smirking at them. He had Bakura in his grip and a knife was pressed to the boy's neck. His smirk grew. "What can I do for you, officers?"


	10. Chapter 10

**CW: Shooting, death threats, mentions of r*pe, lead up to initiation (Malik)**

* * *

A tense silence filled the air. "Well?" Aknamkanon raised an eyebrow. "I haven't got all day." He pressed the blade closer to Bakura's throat. "And as you can see, neither does he."

"Release the boy now," an officer called as several guns were pointed at Aknamkanon.

Aknamkanon smirked. "But you see, if you fire, I'll just use him as a shield and bang, bang, he's dead."

"What do you want?" Ryou asked, stepping forward.

Bakura looked over at him and opened his mouth, but Aknamkanon pressed the knife harder against his throat. A thin line of blood trickled down the albino's neck.

Aknamkanon looked between Ryou and Bakura, his smirk growing. "This." He pulled a gun out of his pocket and aimed it at Ryou.

"Ryou, move!" Ryou felt a weight barrel into him from the side and heard the gun go off. It was the loudest sound he had ever heard.

He heard the second loudest sound a second later when whoever had saved him yelled in pain.

Ryou hit the ground with a thud and staggered to his feet, turning to see who had been stupid enough to save him. His face paled.

"Malik!"

He ran over to the platinum blonde and crouched down beside him.

Malik was gripping his chest in pain.

"Get the medics over here!" He heard an officer roar.

"Malik, let me see it," Ryou murmured. Malik's teeth were clenched and his eyes were squeezed shut. He shook his head. "Please, Mal, work with me." He gently peeled Malik's hand away from the wound.

Blood dripped onto the snow beneath them, staining it a vibrant red. Ryou gulped but looked at the wound.

As far as he could tell, it wouldn't be fatal. It wasn't close enough to Malik's heart to endanger his life. But it might have punctured a lung.

"Here; use this!"

He looked up to see Yugi holding out his jacket. Ryou smiled and nodded, taking the jacket and tying it around Malik's chest as a makeshift bandage.

"Keep an eye on him," he mumbled to Yugi, who nodded.

He tried to stand up, but stopped, feeling Malik's hand grip his. He turned to his tanned friend.

Malik smiled feebly. "Kick his ass for me."

Ryou returned the smile and nodded before turning back to Aknamkanon.

Aknamkanon raised an eyebrow as Ryou began walking towards him. "Oh? What's this? Does the bunny want to fight?"

"No. That would be ridiculous," Ryou laughed. It was a chilling sound, unlike his usual cheery giggle. "I want to make a deal with you."

"What kind of deal?"

"Play a game against Yugi. If you win, you get to keep Bakura, Marik and Yami. If you lose, you have to let them go."

Everyone's eyes widened. Bakura glared at Ryou as though to say 'this had better work'.

Aknamkanon narrowed his eyes, as though thinking about the situation. "Deal. Bring him over. I'll challenge him to a game of Duel Monsters."

Ryou smirked and turned to walk back to Yugi. He heard another bang and the third loudest noise he had ever heard.

His own shriek of pain.

He fell to the ground, pain shooting up from his back.

"On second thought, no deal." Aknamkanon pointed it at Ryou again, this time at his head. "Say goodbye, bunny."

Before he could fire, the gun was forced to the side by a hand gripping his wrist. He looked up and scowled at Seto. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I think that I'm making sure you don't kill him," Seto replied coolly. "It's your own fault that you got distracted."

Aknamkanon growled and wrenched the gun away from Seto, loosening his hold on Bakura as he did so.

Instantly, Bakura was pulled out of his grip by Duke. "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine," Bakura growled, pulling free of Duke.

Sirens wailed, announcing the arrival of the medics, who ran over to Malik and Ryou. The two were lifted onto stretchers and carried to the ambulance to be treated.

Bakura looked back at Aknamkanon to see Joey and Tristan fighting him.

Although Aknamkanon was strong, the two street fighters were too much for him and soon had him pinned against the wall.

"You're going away for a long time for this," Seto growled as Aknamkanon's hands were cuffed behind his back. "I'll make sure of it."

Bakura froze. "Aknadin."

"Already checked when we got here," Duke said. "His car's gone."

Bakura clenched his fists. "Don't worry, kid," an officer said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We'll find him."

"Sure," Bakura muttered, shrugging his hand off. He looked over at Yugi. "Yami and Marik are upstairs in the attic. Go let them out."

Yugi hesitated. "But what about you?"

"I'm fine. Just go."

Yugi didn't need to be told again and he bolted inside. Bakura looked over at the stretchers and walked over to the one that Ryou was on. The snow-haired boy's eyes were closed, so Bakura assumed that he was unconscious. "You idiot. Why the hell would you put yourself in danger like that?" He hissed.

Ryou opened his eyes and smiled at Bakura. "I wanted to help you."

Bakura scowled, the fact that Ryou was awake not phasing him. "So you get yourself shot?"

"I wasn't planning on it." Ryou frowned. "I just knew that either he'd accept the challenge and lose, or he'd attack me and get distracted."

Bakura shook his head, gripping the sides of the stretcher. His knuckles turned white. "You're an idiot," he whispered again.

"So are you." Ryou smiled and placed his hand over Bakura's. "But you're a free idiot."

Bakura paused and let that sink in. He was free.

* * *

"What do you think is going on?" Yami asked. Both he and Marik had fallen silent and had been listening to the muffled yells from outside.

Now there was nothing.

"He wouldn't have killed them outside," Marik reasoned. "Maybe-"

They both froze at the sound of thundering footsteps and looked up in time to see the door swing open.

Their eyes widened in shock. "Yugi?"

Yugi smiled at them. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?" Yami asked, pulling away from Marik.

"I came to get you guys out," Yugi replied, running over to Yami. He threw his arms around the taller boy.

Yami winced slightly but returned the hug. "Are you okay, aibou?"

"I'm fine," Yugi assured him. "But… Ryou and Malik…"

Marik sat up straighter. "Malik-pretty?"

Yugi nodded. "They… they were both shot… The doctors said that they'd be okay, but…" He swallowed.

Yami rubbed Yugi's back reassuringly. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

Yugi smiled. "Thanks, Yami." He stood up again. "Come on; let's get out of here."

Marik nodded, standing up. He turned to Yami. "Think you can walk, Pharaoh?"

Yami hesitated before trying to stand up. After a few failed attempts, he managed to stand with Yugi and Marik's help. "Thanks."

"No need to thank us." Yugi looked up at him. "We're your friends. Well, and brother."

Yami chuckled. "Still. Thanks."

"Anytime, Mou Hitori."

* * *

"Tell us what he did."

A crash followed the statement. "Bakura!"

"That recording equipment is expensive!" The chief protested, glaring at Bakura.

"I don't care," Bakura hissed. He knocked the microphone off the table and it landed with the recorder. "It's our business. Not yours."

"We're just trying to help-"

"You're not even fucking arresting him!"

"Bakura, calm down." Ryou stood, his face paling as he put pressure on his injured leg. He placed a hand on Bakura's shoulder. "They can't send him to prison without a court case."

"Why the fuck not?!" Bakura snarled. "They can see what he's done! He just shot you and Malik!"

"He still needs to be given a trial," Ryou protested. "So sit down and answer their questions. The sooner you cooperate, the sooner you can leave and the sooner he'll be locked up. Yami and Marik finished ages ago!"

Bakura glared at the younger boy before reluctantly flopping down in his seat again. "Fine."

Ryou sighed and sat next to him. The chief rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone as a makeshift recording device. "What did he do?"

"He locked us in the attic," Bakura replied. "And tortured us for eight years. Every day. And he killed two of our friends."

"For the record, who is the 'we' you are talking about?"

Bakura gritted his teeth. "You already know that it's me and my brothers."

"Please state their names for the record."

"If you love the record so much, why don't you two just fuck? You look like you need it."

"Bakura!" Ryou hit the other's shoulder lightly, hiding laughter.

The chief's face flushed and he scowled. "Just do it, kid."

Bakura sighed. "Yami and Marik Sennen."

"And your friends?"

"Atem Kosey and Heba Abayomi."

"And his brother, Aknadin, was aiding him, correct?"

"Yes."

"What was the last thing they did to each of you?"

"Aknadin ruined Marik's arms and cut up my back, and Aknamkanon…" He paused. "It happened to Yami. His business is his business."

"Son-"

"Don't call me son!"

"Fine. Look, kid, we need to know what happened."

"Didn't you see that video?" Bakura snarled.

"Yes but-"

"Yeah, yeah. For the record. I get it." Bakura gripped the sides of the table. "Aknamkanon raped him. Happy?"

The officer stopped recording. "Thanks for your time."

Ryou stood up. "Come on, 'Kura. Let's go. You and Marik are staying at my house for a while."

Bakura stood up and stormed out of the room.

"Disagreeable brat," the chief muttered.

Ryou turned and glared at him. His eyes blazed despite his calm demeanour. "Excuse me, but you just made him tell you some very personal and traumatising things after years of abuse at the hands of those men, so forgive him if he doesn't feel very _agreeable_ right now." Ryou turned and followed Bakura out of the room. "Good day, officer."

* * *

Yugi sat on the plastic chair of the station waiting room, swinging his legs back and forth. Marik, Malik, Bakura and Ryou had already left for Ryou's house, where they would all be spending the night. Yami and Yugi on the other hand were waiting for Solomon to collect them.

"Do you think Grandpa will be mad?" Yugi asked.

"Maybe a bit," Yami admitted, "but he'll calm down once we explain things to him."

"You think?" Yugi looked up at him.

Yami nodded. As though on cue, Solomon pushed open the door to the waiting room and hobbled in, making a beeline for Yugi. "Yugi!"

Yugi gasped as he was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug. "Grandpa, I-"

"What were you thinking?" Solomon took a step back. "You could have been hurt! Killed! Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" He groaned. "Dear gods, Yugi, I've been worried sick! I've been praying to the gods the whole time and-"

"Grandpa, I'm fine," Yugi insisted with an assuring smile. He turned to Yami. "Yami, this is my Grandpa. Grandpa, this is Yami."

Solomon looked up at Yami with narrowed eyes but after a moment he smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm so sorry about what happened."

"It's not your fault, Mr. Mutou," Yami replied. "And it's nice to meet you too."

"Just call me Grandpa, Yami. All of Yugi's friends do," Solomon chuckled.

Yugi sighed. At least Solomon seemed to like Yami. "Is it okay if Yami stays with us for a while, Grandpa?"

Solomon hesitated. "We don't have the spare room ready, but we have a blow up mattress that we could put in Yugi's room for you if that's okay?"

"That would be amazing," Yami said. "Thank you."

"It's no bother." Solomon grinned. "Now, who wants some hot chocolate when we get home?"

The two shared a smile and followed Solomon out of the station.

* * *

"You're still an idiot. You know that, right?" Bakura asked with a scowl as he unwound the bandages around Ryou's leg.

Ryou winced. "It was worth it."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Bakura looked up at him in disbelief. "You were shot! Fucking shot!"

Ryou sighed. "Could you please tone down on the swearing?"

"Why should I?" Bakura grumbled.

"Because you're in my house and I don't appreciate it."

"Prude," Bakura snorted.

"I am by no means a prude. You can swear, but just not so much!" Ryou frowned.

Bakura met his gaze. "You look like an upset bunny when you frown."

Ryou blushed and looked away. "Probably got it from Lily."

Bakura snorted. "I've seen Lily. Her frowns are scarier than yours are."

"Oh shut up." Ryou looked back at him. "Aren't you meant to be switching the dressings on my leg?"

"Aren't you meant to be defending yourself?"

"Against what? You saying I'm an idiot?"

"Yes." Bakura took the last of the bandages away and began cleaning the wound with an antiseptic wipe.

Ryou yelped.

Bakura paused. "Sorry." He began again, gentler this time.

It still stung, but it was easier to manage now.

Ryou sighed. "As I said, it was worth it. You're free now." He paused and blushed. "A-and by you, I mean all three of you, of course."

Bakura smirked. "Of course." He threw the wipe into a nearby bin and squeezed some cream into his hand, massaging it into the skin around the wound to prevent inflammation. "But you still shouldn't have risked yourself like that. You could have gotten hurt worse. Like Malik."

It turned out that Malik did have internal bleeding, but since the bullet had missed his vital organs, he would be fine after some rest.

Hence why he was staying with Ryou. Marik was changing Malik's bandages in the kitchen. Or should be, anyway.

Knowing them, they could have forgotten about the injury started making cake.

Ryou shrugged. "But I didn't. And besides, Malik's fine."

"I know, but…" Bakura looked away.

Ryou smiled. "Are you feeling bad for us?"

"No, of course not!" Bakura replied gruffly, bandaging Ryou's leg again.

"Good. Because we'd do it again," Ryou replied. "We'd do it ten times over."

Bakura finished bandaging the wound and met Ryou's gaze again. "Really?"

Ryou nodded and lowered his leg off the couch that they were sitting on. "Of course." He moved closer to Bakura. "We care about you."

"You barely know us."

"We still care."

They both fell silent.

The distance between them grew smaller.

Suddenly, Bakura stood up. "I should go get some sleep. Long day."

Ryou nodded, hiding the disappointment in his eyes. "Of course. You're in the guest room at the end of the hall upstairs."

Bakura nodded. "Thanks."

Ryou watched as Bakura walked upstairs. Not once did the older boy look back.

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be okay on the air mattress?" Yugi asked, watching as Yami plopped onto the makeshift bed. "If you want, you can take my bed."

Yami shook his head. "You've already lent me clothes and pyjamas. I'll be fine."

"I'm pretty sure that Grandpa went out and bought them for you," Yugi admitted. "I don't remember seeing those."

Yami was wearing well-fitting dark blue pyjama bottoms as well as a black tank top. They along with the clothes had fit him far too well to be Yugi's.

"I suspected as much, but when I asked about it, he just said he was keeping them in the attic for when you were tall enough for them," Yami replied.

Yugi flushed. "I could wear them if I wanted to!"

Yami chuckled. "I'm sure you'd look just as amazing in them as you do in your own clothes, aibou."

Yugi's blush darkened and he looked away. "Thanks."

"Why are you thanking me?" Yami tilted his head. "You've done so much for me these past few days. I should be the one thanking you."

"You already did," Yugi pointed out. "And it was nothing."

"It wasn't nothing, aibou." Yami looked him dead in the eyes. "Atem and Heba died trying to help us escape and you managed it."

"I guess…" Yugi rubbed the back of his neck.

Yami sat up next to him on his bed. "There must be some way that I can thank you."

"Eh?" Yugi blinked in surprise and shook his head. "No, it's fine. I don't need any thanks."

"That's why I want to give it to you," Yami said. "You didn't do it for anything other than helping people. You had no ulterior motives in mind." He tilted his head. "There must be something you want."

"No, not really." Yugi shrugged.

Yami hummed. "Yugi? Do you trust me?"

Yugi smiled. "You know I do, Mou Hitori."

"Then close your eyes."

Yugi hesitated before obliging. A moment later, he felt a pair of soft lips on his own. His eyes shot open again and he met Yami's gaze.

After a moment, he closed his eyes again and returned the kiss. After a moment, Yami pulled back, a little too suddenly. He rested his forehead against Yugi's. "Thank you."

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay, Malik-pretty?"

Malik took a deep breath and forced a smile. "I'm fine, Marik. I just need to go home for a bit. My sister's probably worried sick about me."

Marik hesitated before nodding. "You know that if you need me, just text me and I'll be there."

Malik's forced smile faded to a genuine one and he nodded. "I know. Thanks, Mar." He pulled on his helmet and turned on his Vespa. "See you later."

"Bye."

Malik pulled away from the house. The drive home was uneventful, apart from the fact that he almost hit a cat.

And even then, he only  _almost_  hit it. He didn't  _actually_  hit it.

It would have been so much better if he could take off his helmet, but Ishizu would kill him.

And she seemed to have spies everywhere. Whenever he did it, she knew about it.

Thankfully, his house was only a half-hour drive from Ryou's, so he didn't have to deal with his boredom for long.

When he stepped into the house, he wished he was still on his bike. "F-father…"

His father stood in the hallway, glaring at him with folded arms. "Where were you, Billy?"

"My name's Malik," Malik sighed.

"That is not a Calliark name!"

"And Billy is?"

"We've been over this, Billy."

Malik sighed. "I was at Ryou's house."

"You should have been back earlier. You know what day today is."

Malik tensed. No. Not yet. Not again. It couldn't be.

His father raised an eyebrow. "Billy. Earth to Billy. You need to get ready."

"No…"

"Yes. I will not have you abandon our religion!" His father narrowed his eyes. "The ritual will take place in an hour. Get ready."

He turned and walked towards the kitchen, undoubtedly getting ready for the annual ritual.

Malik gulped. No. This couldn't be happening.

He did the first thing he could think of.

Turned his phone on.

* * *

"So you like horror films too?"

"Who doesn't?" Bakura snorted. "Gory ones are the best."

Ryou sighed. "I love them too, but my friends never let me choose good ones so I just pretend to be terrified. The ones they pick are nothing but jump scares. No real plot."

"Those are stupid and a waste of time," Bakura muttered. "Have you seen Occulus?"

Ryou tilted his head. "No. Is it any good?"

"It's decided. We're watching it."

"But you haven't seen Sweeny Todd and I want to show you that…"

Marik groaned, his head falling onto the armrest of the couch. "You two are just as bad as each other. Can't we just watch both of them?"

"No," they replied in unison.

"Stubborn idiots," Marik muttered as the two continued to 'debate' over which film to watch. His phone vibrated and he took it out.

A text from Malik. Just one word.

**Help!**

Marik stood up, pocketing his phone.

"Hey, where are you going?" Bakura asked. "We're supposed to be watching a film!"

Marik didn't even look back at him. "Malik-pretty needs me."


	11. Chapter 11

**CW: Murder, gore, initiation (Malik), dissociation, slur (f*g), implications of r*pe, mentions of drug use**

* * *

Malik sat on his bed, his body tense. He didn't want this. Not again. He couldn't go through it again.

Every year it was the same thing, over and over again. He didn't want this. Not anymore.

He clenched his fists, gripping the sides of his bed. His knuckles turned as pale as Ryou.

His back itched and burned, but he wasn't allowed take off the ceremonial robe yet. And anyway, it wouldn't help.

The bandages bound tightly around his chest kept a salve on his back that was meant to make sure his back wouldn't be infected.

All he could do now was wait.

And he knew that he didn't have much longer to do that.

He looked around his room. It was bare. The walls and floor were painted a muddy brown; he didn't have a carpet or anything.

The furniture was at a bare minimum; he had his bed, and a small wooden chair that he had long grown too big for.

He closed his eyes. He always did this. Looked around his room before the ceremony.

Imagined what it would be like if he was part of a different family.

Maybe purple walls. A nice wooden floor.

A comfortable bed, a bookshelf. A wardrobe of clothes that he felt comfortable in. Maybe his family would even let him put up posters, or fight for him to wear the girl's uniform at school.

His eyes flashed open. Nope. No, no, no, no.

He couldn't think of things like that.

No. He needed to be a true Callian. At least for today.

He closed his eyes again and went over the morals in his head, as he was supposed to.

One. Do not question Alumuna's judgement. She knows all.

Two. We must prepare for the return of the Pharaoh.

Three. The first born sons will be the ones to carry on tradition.

Four. The ancient religious scriptures are to be carved into the back of every member of the household.

Five. The annual rituals are to be willingly executed on the first born son each year during a full moon.

Six. The body you are born in is the body that Alumuna gave you. Stay in it. Be comfortable. It is what you were given.

Seven. Gender is no boundary with love, but reproduction is necessary. Each household must have at least one child.

Eight. Meat is obtained in the killing of other creatures, which goes against our laws. Meat must not be consumed.

Nine. Do not welch on promises you have made, as each promise will be judged by Alumuna on the day of passing.

He sighed. He couldn't do it. He couldn't.

He stood up, just as his door opened to reveal Ishizu in her ceremonial garb. "It is time, brother."

Malik swallowed and nodded. "Okay." His voice was barely as loud as a whisper.

He was surprised that Ishizu heard him.

He strode out of his room and in the direction of the living room. He already knew what it would look like. The curtains would be drawn. The candles would be lit. The stone coffee table would have ropes next to it, ready to tie him down.

His father would be holding the silver knife over a candle.

Odion would be in his room, waiting out the ritual, just like he was always ordered to do.

Ishizu walked behind Malik, until they reached the door. She stepped in front of him and held the door open as he walked in.

His father glanced up at him and nodded.

He returned the nod and slipped the robe off his shoulders, leaving him in only a plain white shenti.

He lay stomach-down on the table and waited as Ishizu tied his wrists and ankles to the table.

He heard his father chanting the usual psalm. "Kia te marama o Alumuna tae te matamua whanau tamaiti o te whare, me te pure ia ia o tetahi hara i mahia e ia i tenei tau. Kia whakawakia ana kupu: a haamaitaihia e, a kia murua ona mau fafauraa wareware. Kia tae a ia aroha o Alumuna e whakahoutia te mau papa'iraa mo'a, a kia ora ia ki te mahi ia mo tetahi atu tau."

By that stage, he could translate it. He'd studied so many books in Maori that it was like another first language to him.

Let the light of Alumuna reach the first born child of the household and cleanse him of any sins he has committed this year. Let his promises be judged and graced, and let his forgotten promises be forgiven. Let Alumuna's mercy reach him as the scriptures are renewed and let him live to serve her for another year.

It was the family prayer. Each family had their own version of it.

It changed every generation.

Malik closed his eyes. It wouldn't be long now.

He did his best not to scream as he felt the knife pierce his skin. It got worse and worse, every year.

His back was burning. It was on fire.

He could feel the knife cutting into his flesh, reinforcing the scars that were already there.

The knife went lower and lower. It was painstakingly slow. It was almost over. It was past his ribs. He was nearly done.

But it wasn't soon enough.

He counted down the seconds, holding his breath as he felt his father cut into the last words.

Tears streamed down his face. He couldn't tell anymore if it was him screaming or someone else, though he had never heard his sister scream during a ritual before.

The knife lifted.

It burned. It burned so badly. Malik wasn't sure what was worse; the ritual itself or the aftermath.

He could feel Ishizu cleaning the blood away from his back and gently rubbing ointments into it.

He squeezed his eyes shut. It was always the same.

And then it changed.

They heard a loud crash upstairs.

Malik, Ishizu and their father all looked at the door. Their father growled. "Lucy, take care of Billy's back. I'll check what that was, and then we'll continue."

"Of course, father." Ishizu bowed. Malik's eyes were still wide, even after their father had left the room.

It had changed.

* * *

"Bakura?"

Bakura looked up. Ryou had followed him upstairs. "What do you want?"

Ryou hesitated, standing in the doorway of Bakura's room. "Are... are you okay?"

"Yeah," Bakura snorted. "Peachy."

Ryou took a step into the room. "You know... I'm here if you want to talk," he mumbled.

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Talk? To you?" He looked away, folding his arms. "Yeah right." He sat down on his bed.

"Why not?" Ryou asked. He took another step into Bakura's room but a dark glare stopped him.

"Because you wouldn't understand."

Ryou smirked. It was emotionless; it looked odd on his face. As though it wasn't meant to be there. "You think so?"

"I know so."

"How?" Ryou raised an eyebrow. "You know nothing about me or what I've been through. How do you know I won't be able to relate to you, even just a little bit?"

"Why would you be?" Bakura snapped.

Ryou folded his arms. "When I was younger, I lived in England. My mom used to get drugged up all the time. One time, she got drugged up at a ballet recital my sister was at and on the way home, she crashed. My sister died. My parents decided to move to Japan, and we got a nice house, but I'm usually the only one there. My dad finds excuses to be away. My mom is always out with a new boy or girl doing drugs. She's not picky when she's high." Ryou shrugged. "The only happy times we ever had were Christmas, but my dad bailed this year and my mom came home, high, kicked everyone out of my house and tried to force me to take drugs as well. Every time she brings someone new home, I don't sleep. I sit in my room and lock my door and stay awake, not doing anything. Just watching the door in case they come in."

Bakura looked away. "Sad story. But not exactly like ours."

Ryou closed his eyes. "It is like yours. There's a reason I sat awake all those nights." He seemed to choke on oxygen.

Bakura glanced at him again. "Don't," he mumbled.

Ryou looked at him, his eyes wide. "W-what?"

"Don't tell me if you're not ready. I barely know you," Bakura muttered.

Ryou sat next to him on the bed and placed his hand over Bakura's. "But I want to know you."

Bakura looked down. "It's a long story."

Ryou gently cupped his cheek and turned Bakura's head so that he was facing Ryou again. Ryou gave him a small smile. "We've got time."

* * *

Seto didn't look up from the computer as the door opened. "You're fired."

"But, sir-"

"I'm running a multi trillion yen company and you are disrupting my work. You're fired."

"Sir, I really think you'll want to see this."

Seto sighed and looked up. "What?" He hissed.

The guard that had interrupted him wasn't phased. "Turn to the security footage, sir."

Seto frowned and clicked onto the security tab on his desktop. A few moments later, his frown became a scowl as he watched Joey's father attempting to climb over the fence surrounding his mansion.

"I want him arrested," he ground out through gritted teeth. "Now."

"Yes, sir." The guard bowed and left the room.

Seto kept his eyes on the security footage, watching as his guards had the man arrested, though not without a small fight.

He would have to pay compensation for at least one broken nose after this.

But it was worth it. A smirk crept onto his face as he watched the man being forced into a car, his hands cuffed behind his back.

He closed the tab. It was over.

* * *

All that Malik could hear was yelling. Ishizu was on the phone, but he couldn't hear what she was saying.

Her usually tanned face was pale, and her eyes were dark pools of fear.

He tried to sit up, but he was still tied to the table, preventing him from doing so.

"What's going on?" He choked out, but he was given no response.

The door crashed open, revealing Marik.

Malik's eyes widened in shock. "M-Marik?"

"Malik." Marik ran over to him and began to untie him.

"W-what are you doing here?" Malik asked shakily, forcing himself to sit up once he was free.

"You asked me for help, and I'm here," Marik replied as though it were obvious. "I'm getting you out."

Malik stared at him in shock.

Freedom. He was finally going to be free.

Marik turned and crouched down so that his back was to Malik. "Climb on. You're in no state to walk."

Just as Malik was about to do so, his father stumbled into the room. He was glaring at Marik, blood trickling down from his head. "Get out of this house!" He snarled.

Malik could hear sirens. Why would there be sirens?

He looked at Ishizu, but she was only watching their father.

"I'm only leaving with Malik and his siblings," Marik stated, his eyes narrowed.

"Billy and Lucy are going nowhere," his father growled. He could hear the door crash open again.

His father grabbed the knife that he had used to reinforce Malik's scars and advanced on Marik.

Marik didn't move away. He just watched him come.

"Marik, move!" Malik yelled.

"Keep quiet, Billy!" His father snarled, glancing at Malik.

He lost concentration. In that split second, Marik stepped forward and whacked the knife out of the man's hand.

His face turned red with rage. "You little-!" He reached his hands out to wrap around Marik's neck.

Malik saw Marik tense. Fear and rage shifted onto the older boy's face before fading back to angry stillness.

Marik ducked beneath the man's hands and slammed into him, sending them both to the ground.

They grappled for a few moments, Malik's father roaring while Marik was silent. Malik's father managed to throw Marik off him and stumbled, grabbing the knife again.

The sight of the weapon only seemed to push Marik further into his state of... whatever it was that he was in.

Ishizu rushed out of the room. Malik stayed put, too sore to walk, even if he wanted to.

His father lunged at Marik.

Everything seemed to happen at once.

He heard himself shriek the word, "No!"

He saw Ishizu re-enter the room with a group of policemen.

He saw his father's eyes shift to him.

He saw Marik grab the knife out of his father's hand.

He saw the knife plunge into the man's chest.

His father gasped. He couldn't get a sound out of his mouth. Then he slumped to the ground.

The rage seemed to flood out of Marik's eyes as he stared down at the man. All that was left was fear.

He looked up at Malik. "Malik-pretty?"

The policemen ran over to him, forcing his hands behind his back. Marik didn't struggle.

The whole time, his eyes were locked with Malik's.

Malik tried to protest, but the words died in his throat, even as Marik was forced out of the room.

He looked up at Ishizu. "Why?" He whispered.

Ishizu glared after Marik. "He killed our father. He disrupted the ritual."

Malik wasn't sure which she was more upset about. "Ishizu, he saved us..."

"During the rituals, my name is Lucy, Billy." Ishizu turned her glare to Malik. "And he didn't save us. He doomed us."

* * *

Yugi frowned as he sat down at the cafeteria table. "Guys, have any of you seen Marik?" He asked. "I haven't seen him at all today."

Malik kept his gaze on his food. "He didn't come in today..." He mumbled.

"Why not?" Yami asked.

Yugi almost smiled. Yami hadn't talked much since they had kissed. It was worrying Yugi. But now wasn't the time.

Malik wouldn't look at them. "He's been arrested..."

There was a moment of disbelieving silence. "What?!"

"He's been arrested..." Malik repeated. His tone was dismal. He had barely touched his food.

"But... that..." Ryou shook his head. "Why?"

Malik stabbed at his salad with his fork. "He tried to help me. My dad was forcing me to take part in the rituals again."

"You said he had stopped..." Yugi mumbled.

"Yeah. I said a lot of things." Malik put his fork down. "He stabbed my father in the chest. He died at the hospital."

"You don't seem very upset," Bakura commented. "About your father."

Malik snorted. "I couldn't care less about him. He was a sperm donor as far as I'm concerned. Not even that for Odion. I'm more worried about Marik..." He closed his eyes. "His court hearing is in a few days... I don't want him to go to prison... He was just trying to help..."

"Why did he stab him?" Duke asked.

Malik fiddled with the sleeve of his school jacket. Out of everyone, he looked the most unhappy to be back in uniform. "My father ran at him with a knife, and... Something happened... He wasn't himself," he mumbled. "He grabbed the knife and stabbed my father before he could be stabbed."

"So it was self defence?" Seto raised an eyebrow. Malik nodded. "Then he should be let off, especially since he was going to be killed if he didn't do something."

"Ishizu's going to do her best to put him in jail."

"Then I'll get him a good lawyer." Everyone gave Seto a look of disbelief. "What?"

"You're going to do something nice? Without Joey asking you to?" Tristan asked.

Seto rolled his eyes. "Fine. Get your own lawyer then."

"No, no!" Malik cut Tristan off before he could argue. He smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

"Thank you, opposition."

There was an odd smirk on Ishizu's face as she came down from the podium. It made Malik's stomach churn.

She wanted Marik to rot for killing their father.

"Defence?"

Marik's lawyer stood up. "I'd like to call Malik Ishtar to the stand as a witness."

Malik gulped and stood up. Ishizu put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to sit down again. "My brother doesn't have to if he does not wish to."

"Why wouldn't he want to?" The lawyer raised an eyebrow.

"Because everyone knows that man murdered our father and he's still upset over it," Ishizu hissed, glaring at Marik.

"Order," the judge sighed as murmurs broke out in court.

"Ms. Ishtar, my client is around the age of your brother. He is not an adult. I also ask that you let your brother make his own decisions," the lawyer said coolly. She turned to Malik. "Malik, would you mind?" Her tone was soft now.

"Yes, Malik, would you?" Ishizu's tone was icy.

Malik swallowed again and stood up. "Not at all," he croaked out.

The lawyer smiled. "Thank you." Ishizu narrowed her eyes and sat down again.

Malik stood at the podium, watching as the court clerk scurried up to him.

"Please state your name for the court."

"Malik Ishtar."

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I do."

"You may be seated."

Malik sat down, fiddling with his fingers as Marik's lawyer approached. "Malik, your family was part of the Calliark religion, was it not?"

Malik nodded. "Yeah. My grandfather was the founder."

The lawyer nodded. "And one of the morals is to carry out religious rituals every year, correct?" Malik nodded. "Can you tell us what the ritual in your family is?"

"Objection." Ishizu stood up. "How is this relevant?"

"There is a point, Ms. Ishtar," Marik's lawyer assured. "You just need to let me get to it."

Ishizu frowned and sat down again. Malik swallowed. "Um... the ancient scriptures are... carved into our backs..."

"What are the ancient scriptures?"

"They... they supposedly tell us that a great unnamed Pharaoh is to return and we have to prepare for his return," Malik replied, his voice shaking.

"And when the scriptures were carved into your back, did it hurt?"

Malik closed his eyes. "It does. It always feels like my back is on fire."

Marik's lawyer nodded. "You're doing great, Malik. I just have a few more questions. Before the ritual, what did you do?"

Malik looked up at her. "I, uh... I panicked... I didn't want to go through it again, and I text Marik asking for help..."

"Why Marik?" She asked. "You'd only met him that day, correct?"

Malik nodded. "Y-yeah, but he said that he'd help me if I needed it, so..." He trailed off. "So I just thought of him first."

The lawyer nodded. "You say you didn't want to go through it again. Would it be safe to assume that you were forced to take part in the rituals?"

Malik nodded. "Yeah... I was the first born son so I didn't have a choice... Whenever I tried to get away..." He bit his lip. "It didn't end well." Ishizu was glaring daggers at him.

"And when Marik came to help, what happened?"

Malik hesitated. "I... I don't exactly know... I heard a crash and my father went to check it out... He was angry that the ritual had been disrupted... The next thing I knew, Marik was there trying to help me out, but my father came back in and grabbed the knife..."

"So he threatened Marik?" Malik nodded. "What then?"

"Then... something changed," Malik replied. "Marik was in a... a sort of trance... I don't know what happened."

"Could it have been flashbacks from his own father, who abused him for years?"

Malik nodded. "It could have been."

"Continue."

"My father ran at him, and he was going to kill him, but... Marik grabbed the knife and stabbed him." Malik shook his head. "I don't think he meant to. He looked surprised. Scared. He just... He didn't want to die, or for me to get hurt."

"So you think it was manslaughter? In self-defence?"

Malik nodded. "I know it was."

The lawyer smiled. "No further questions."

Malik stepped down from the podium and sat by Ishizu and Odion again. Odion gave him a reassuring smile. Ishizu refused to look at him.

"Based on the evidence, I am relieving Marik Sennen of the charges," the judge decided, "due to his age, his history and the circumstances. He will not be arrested, but he will attend counselling twice a week for three months, and once a week for two months after that." He hit the table with his hammer. "Case closed."

People began to file out of the court. Ishizu, Odion and Malik stood up. Malik looked up as Marik ran over to him, smiling. "Malik-pretty!"

Malik smiled happily and threw his arms around Marik. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "It was my fault."

Marik hugged him tightly. "It wasn't your fault," he protested.

"You're right." Malik felt someone yank him away from Marik. "It was yours." He looked behind him to see Ishizu glaring at Marik.

"Sister-"

He was ignored. "Stay away from our family," she snarled before pulling Malik out of the court.

Malik tried to pull against her, but the wounds on his back were still fresh and making him weak, so he couldn't break free.

He looked at Marik over his shoulder and tried to smile.

The only comfort he had was that Marik smiled back at him.

* * *

"Your turn," Ryou said, looking across the table at Bakura. It had been a few weeks since Marik's court case.

School had grown mundane again. Malik and Marik were avoiding one another now. Well, Malik was forced to avoid Marik by his sister. Marik avoided Malik so that the latter wouldn't get in trouble.

Bakura narrowed his eyes and rolled the dice onto the table. He smirked. Ryou frowned. Double zero. "Looks like I win."

"Hang on..." Ryou typed the information into the computer. He sighed. "Your attack is powered by the darkness around you. The White Mage doesn't stand a chance. You defeat him in one attack."

Bakura's smirk grew. "Told you."

"Yeah, yeah." Ryou rolled his eyes. He glanced at the computer again and smiled. "You didn't win yet. You just knocked the Mage out." Bakura frowned. "Now it's my turn." Ryou rolled the dice and came up with a zero and three. He typed it into the computer. "The White Mage wakens again. He is injured, but not dead."

Bakura scowled and rolled again. Ninety.

Ryou cringed. "Your attack misses." He rolled. Zero and one.

"You win?" Bakura guessed.

Ryou smiled. "Nope. I invite you back to my house to watch a horror film and have a cup of tea."

Bakura glared at him. "Quit messing around."

"I'm not." Ryou shrugged. "I find that the best way to expel inner darkness is through friendship."

Bakura snorted but went along with it. They continued the roleplay until the 'horror film' was over.

"Your turn."

Bakura rolled. Double zero.

"So do you kill me after the film?"

Bakura smirked. "Nah. Don't think so."

Ryou tilted his head. "What then?"

"I kiss you." Ryou's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. Bakura walked over to his side of the table. "Well?"

"W-well what?" Ryou asked.

"Do you kiss me back?"

Ryou rolled. His first double zero in the entire game. "Looks like you're in luck."

Bakura smirked as he leaned towards Ryou. "I always am."

Ryou leaned in the rest of the way and pressed his lips to Bakura's. Bakura hummed contentedly into the kiss.

"You lose," Ryou whispered, pulling away slightly.

Bakura blinked. "How?"

Ryou smirked. "I'm a vampire remember? I bite you."

Bakura rolled the dice. Fifty five. "So what does that mean?"

"You don't survive the bite," Ryou giggled.

"Son of a bitch!"

* * *

Yugi sighed as he trudged home. It was March. March.

Yami had kissed him in January, just before school had started again. It had been eight weeks since then.

Eight weeks since he had talked to Yami properly.

Yugi stuffed his hands in his pockets. As usual, Yami had stayed late to 'study' in the school library.

He probably wouldn't be back until half nine or ten.

 _What went wrong?_ Yugi closed his eyes.

"Hey, Ushio! I found him!"

His eyes shot open. On instinct, he began running.

It had been the same story every day for the past three weeks. He would find a new route home to avoid these guys, and they would find him anyway.

He yelped as someone slammed into him, sending him crashing to the ground.

They were always smart. They didn't hurt him anywhere that he couldn't cover it up.

He tried to scramble away but someone pinned him down.

He looked up to see Ushio sneering down at him. "Hello again, faggot." He grasped Yugi's chin roughly. "Ready for some fun?"


	12. Chapter 12

**CW: Drug use (consensual), Ryou's mom, bruising, kicked out of home**

* * *

"Okay, so continue the monologue," Tristan said. " _My purse, my person_ …"

"…Are stupid for being part of this play," Joey groaned, burying his head in his arms.

Tristan rolled his eyes. "Joey, you're being ridiculous. The Merchant of Venice isn't that hard to learn."

"Tell that to the 'belov'd' text," Joey mumbled. "I can't understand it! Why couldn't they make it more modern?"

"Because it's school and they want to teach us how to understand it," Ryou replied, taking the book from Tristan. "Besides, it's not as difficult as you're making it seem. What do you think it means?  _Be assured, my purse, my person, my extremist means lie all unlocked to your occasions_?"

Most of their friends were watching. Joey noticed that the tapping of keys had silenced and glanced at Seto to see his boyfriend watching him.

His face heated up. "Um… Antonio's willing to do anything to help Bassanio?"

Ryou smiled. "See? You do know it."

Joey shrugged, fidgeting. "I guess."

Ryou handed him the book. "Now you just need to learn it before the next class."

Joey scowled at him. "Very helpful."

Ryou shrugged, still smiling. "I try."

Joey rolled his eyes before opening the book. Anzu sighed and looked at Yugi. "Think he'll manage it?" He didn't reply. Anzu frowned and waved a hand in front of his face. "Yugi?"

He jumped and looked up at her. "Sorry, what?"

"I… asked if you thought Joey could learn the lines for the test," Anzu replied.

Her gaze trailed to a bruise on his cheek and her eyes widened.

She gripped his chin and turned his head so that she could see it better.

"Ow!" Yugi frowned at her.

"Sorry…" She loosened her grip a bit. "But where did you get that bruise, Yugi?"

Yugi didn't meet her gaze. "Nowhere…"

"Yugi…" She pursed her lips. "Tell me."

"Really; nowhere." Yugi pulled away from her. "I tripped on my way home last night and bruised my face. It's no big deal."

"Yugi, that doesn't look-"

"Malik," Yugi called, cutting Anzu off.

Anzu frowned at him. "We're talking about this later," she hissed, but she was ignored.

Malik glanced over at Yugi. His usual salad had gone untouched. Again. "Yeah?"

"Are you any closer to getting the new uniform?" Yugi asked.

Malik tensed and Yugi realised his mistake.

Anzu kicked him under the table.

Duke frowned in confusion and glanced at Malik. "New uniform?"

Ryou shot Yugi a look and glanced at Malik. Malik had turned his gaze to the table again. "Yeah," he muttered. "New uniform."

"I don't get it."

"What's not to get?" Malik glared at the table.

"Why you want a new uniform."

"Because I do. Got a problem with that?" Malik snapped, turning his glare to Duke.

Duke shook his head. "No; no. Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Yeah, well you did." Malik stabbed at his salad. "And no. No luck."

"Malik… Our offer still stands," Ryou said. "We can help you get it if you want us to."

"I don't, Ryou." Malik closed his eyes.

"But-"

"Just drop it," Malik hissed. "It's not like I'll ever get Ishizu to agree to it, even if I get the principal to. There's no point." He stood up and brought his tray over to the bin, dumping his uneaten salad.

The inhabitants of the table watched in silence as he left the cafeteria.

Even Seto had stopped typing. He glanced at Marik. "Well?"

Marik raised an eyebrow. "Well what?"

"Aren't you going to go after him?" Seto's eyes were their usual icy, calculating selves.

"Why should I?" Marik shrugged and took a sip of his water. "He doesn't want my help." Seto rolled his eyes and returned to his work. Marik glared at him. "You think he does after two months of avoiding me?"

"I think he needs it," Seto replied as he began typing again. "Whether he wants it or not is a completely different matter.

* * *

_"_ _You, uh, you, uh, have to, uh, let me go; my dad can't afford it."_

_"_ _Oh don't worry about that."_

_"_ _Uh, no! Uh, I s- I saw them when I was little and I-I don't wanna… be a Mayview kid. Just tell me how to stop it."_

Yugi sighed. He loved  _The Perks of Being a Wallflower._  It was his favourite movie.

But he couldn't concentrate.

_"_ _Stop what?"_

" _S-Seeing it? Uh… All, uh… their lives, all the time, just…Ho-how do you stop seeing it?"_

"Enjoying it?"

Yugi jumped with a small shriek and whipped around to see Yami standing in the doorway.

He let out a slow breath and pressed pause. "Y-Yami, don't do that…"

Yami shrugged a shoulder. "Sorry."

He sounded it, but he didn't look it.

His gaze was fixed on the screen.

Yugi stood up. "Yami… Why are you always staying late after school?"

"I'm a grade above you. We get more work," Yami replied.

Yugi scoffed. "I've seen the homework Bakura and Marik do."

"Yeah, well that's Bakura and Marik. Bakura wants to write for a living and Marik wants to go into the army. Not much schooling needed for either of those," Yami replied. "I want to actually do well on homework and in tests."

His gaze was still fixed on the screen.

"Yami, please…" Yugi mumbled.

Yami sighed. "What is it, Yugi?"

"Please just tell me the truth," he pleaded. "I miss you… You've been avoiding me since-"

"You're being paranoid."

"No I'm not!" Yugi protested. "This is one of the first times we've had a conversation since you kissed me!"

Yami's eyes flickered from the screen to Yugi and down to the floor. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Yes there is." Yugi walked towards him. "Please, Yami. I want to help you. Please… let me."

"I don't. Need. Help."

"I think you do," Yugi replied. He stopped in front of Yami. "Is it what he did to you?"

Yami tensed. "Don't."

"Yami-"

"Don't Yugi."

"It wasn't your fault."

Yami squeezed his eyes shut.

Yugi reached up and cupped his cheek. Yami flinched away from him. "Yami, please… Talk to me."

"I can't…" Yami's voice was strained.

"Yes, you-"

"No. I can't."

"You need to talk about it to someone," Yugi murmured.

Yami shook his head and walked away.

Yugi hesitated, unsure whether or not to follow him. After a few moments, he sat down again and pressed play.

_"_ _Seeing what, Charlie?"_

_"_ _There is… so… much pain… and I-how-I… I-I-I-I don't know how to not notice it…"_

_"_ _What's hurting you?"_

_"_ _No; not-not me. It's them. It's everyone. It never stops… Do you understand?"_

Yugi nodded along with the doctor.  _I almost wish I didn't…_

* * *

Seto sighed as he closed his laptop. His head was pounding.  _I need a break…_

Normally it wouldn't bother him, but Joey had been coaxing him away from his job more and more.

Of course, he didn't have to do nearly as much as he usually did. He just took on the work of doing most of the other jobs in his company because he didn't trust anyone else to do it.

But now others were doing more of their work, he had grown more used to spending time away from the computer than with it.

He sighed and stood up, stretching his back. He glanced at the television above his desk.

Had it always been on? Probably.

His secretary was always turning it on if anything about Kaiba Corp. came up on the news.

He frowned.

_That looks like the gates to my mansion…_

He narrowed his eyes, trying to focus on the person that the cameras and microphones were pointed at.

Joey.

He gritted his teeth and stormed out of his office.

His secretary scrambled to her feet. "Mr. Kaiba, is something wrong?"

"Yes," he replied, not slowing his pace. "Have the guards at the gates and waiting."

He barely took in her stammered response as he made his way downstairs and to the front door.

Even approaching the gates, he could hear the questions bombarding his boyfriend.

"Mr. Wheeler, is it true you had your father arrested?"

"When did you and Mr. Kaiba start dating?"

" _Are_ you even dating him?"

"Mr. Wheeler?"

"Please answer the question Mr. Wheeler!"

Everyone fell silent as Seto exited the gates. Then the questions started again.

Seto held up a hand to silence them but they kept going.

He glared at them. This time, his methods worked. He glanced at Joey, who seemed very flustered.

"Are you okay?"

Joey nodded, looking at his shuffling feet. "Yeah. M'fine."

Seto glared at the reporters. "What questions did you want to ask? One at a time."

Instantly the questions all began at once. Seto saw Joey tense and he wrapped an arm around his waist. "All of you, shut up," he finally growled.

Silence descended again.

He sighed. "I had Joey's father arrested because he tried to get onto my property without my consent and because of some things that I'm not at liberty to-"

"Don't bother," Joey mumbled, looking up again. "He also had him arrested because my dad abused me."

"Mr. Kaiba is this true?"

"How do you know that Mr. Wheeler is telling the truth?"

"Do you think he's just after your money, Mr. Kaiba? He's from a poor family after all."

"Does this mean that you're gay, Mr. Kaiba?"

The flurry of questions began again but another glare silenced them.

Seto nodded. "Yes, it's true. I don't doubt Joey's word and whoever suggested that he's just after my money is an idiot. And no. I'm bisexual. I have never tried to hide this fact in any way." His glare darkened. "And in case any of you have any doubts, I love Joey."

Joey looked up at him, blushing slightly. Seto smiled and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

Flashes of cameras bombarded them and they broke apart.

Seto glared at them again. "If any of those photographs end up in any magazines, or news channels, or newspapers, every single one of you will be sued so that I don't miss whoever sent them in. Now get off my property."

He led Joey back inside the gate, ignoring the questions that followed them. When they were back inside, he turned to Joey again. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Really?"

Joey hesitated. "A bit shocked," he mumbled. "Didn't expect them to run at me when I went out to get a milkshake."

Seto rolled his eyes. "They're idiots that will do anything for a story except actually call to plan an interview. They wanted to catch you off-guard."

"Well they succeeded," Joey sighed. "Is that going to happen a lot?"

Seto nodded. "For a while, yes. Then they'll move onto something else. But it's something that'll happen if we're going to date."

Joey smiled and pecked his lips. "Then I guess I'll just need to get used to it. Because there's no way in hell I'm giving you up."

* * *

"Hey."

Malik looked up from where he was sitting – the ground on top of the roof. Marik was standing in front of him. "Hey."

"Why aren't you eating with the others?" Marik asked.

Malik shrugged and turned back to his salad. "Didn't want to."

Marik kept his tone level. "They were worried."

Malik took a bite of food and shrugged.

After a moment, Marik sat beside him cross-legged. "So what's the deal with you getting a new uniform?"

Malik tensed. "I need a new one."

"Your current one seems fine to me," Marik shot back.

And it was. Ishizu got him a new one every term, so it was only three months old. There was only a thread or two loose.

It even fit him perfectly.

If anyone needed a new uniform, it was Ryou, and even his was fine.

Malik shrugged again. "Then I want a new one."

"Why?" Marik snorted. "Not like the new one will look any different."

Malik bit the inside of his cheek.

Marik sighed. "Malik-pretty, you know you can tell me. I won't judge."

Malik snorted. "Sure."

Marik raised an eyebrow. "Malik, you didn't judge me when I… when I killed your father," he said.

"Don't call him that," Malik cut in. "And that's different. I hated him."

"You cried when he died."

Malik blinked in confusion. "I did?" He didn't remember much about that night.

He didn't remember crying at all.

Except, maybe, when Marik was arrested.

Marik nodded. "When the police came in."

Malik shook his head. "Marik, I wasn't crying for him," he mumbled. "I was crying for you."

Marik looked at him, but Malik kept his gaze on his salad. Marik sighed. "My point is that whatever it is, I won't judge or hate you." He placed his hand over Malik's in order to get some kind of reaction. "Okay?"

Malik looked up at him and hesitated. "I…" He took a deep breath. "I hate boys' clothes," he mumbled. "They make my legs burn - I think it's a sensory thing, but I just hate the way they look too. I like girls' clothes. Dresses and that kind of stuff." Marik hadn't slapped him yet, so Malik decided that it was safe to continue. "So I'm trying to get the girls' uniform. But… Ishizu's not going for it because of this religion bullshit and the teachers are being medieval asses so it doesn't look like it'll happen."

Marik frowned. "That sucks. Need any help getting it?"

Malik blinked. "Really?"

Marik nodded. "I mean, I wouldn't be able to do much right now but I could convince Bakura to steal one from the office for you. And if anyone complains then I'll step in."

"You'd do that for me?"

Marik smiled. "Of course, Malik-pretty. Just don't tell anyone else. They'll think I've gone soft."

Malik laughed and nodded. "Thanks, Mar." He took a bite out of his salad. "So how's counselling going?"

Marik shrugged. "It's going," he replied. Malik gave him a flat look. He sighed. "The counsellor's nice and she's doing her best to help me through things but she's saying that I'm struggling. She's probably right."

Malik nodded in understanding. "Well… I'm here if you ever need me. If you want I could go to your next session with you."

Marik raised an eyebrow. "That's allowed?"

Malik nodded. "Yeah. It's usually couples or family only but I think it's allowed."

Marik smiled. "I'd like that. Thanks."

A comfortable silence descended on them. Marik glanced at him again. "Want to see a film with me tonight?" He offered. "There's that new Pixar film."

" _Inside Out_ , right?"

"Yup."

Malik hesitated. "Well… Ishizu probably wouldn't want me to…" He saw Marik's face fall. He chuckled. "But what's she done for me recently? I'd love to."

* * *

"Yugi?"

Yugi didn't respond until he had taken the last of his books out of his locker, and shut the door. Then he turned to face Yami. "What?"

"Talk to me."

"Okay." Yugi nodded. "How did you like that new episode of  _Once Upon a Time_? I think they're losing the plot a bit. I mean Hook a Dark One?"

"Yugi, that's not what I mean and you know it."

Yugi paused. "So you don't watch  _Once Upon a Time_? Damn, I just gave you a major spoiler."

Yami frowned. "Since when do you swear?"

"Damn doesn't count."

"Yes it does," Yami said. "When it's you. You never swear."

Yugi rolled his eyes. "So I started swearing. Big deal."

"Yugi, tell me what's going on."

"What's going on is we'll be late for class if we don't hurry."

"Yugi…" Yami's tone was warning. Yugi tensed. Yami paused, his gaze softening. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Don't worry about it." Yugi shrugged it off.

Yami sighed. "Where are you getting those bruises from?"

Yugi tensed again. This time, he couldn't shrug it off. "What do you mean?"

"The bruises, Yugi. And the cuts. And the extra homework you suddenly have to do. And the long trips home that take twice as long as they should."

Yugi looked away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb!"

"I'm not!" Yugi hissed. "First of all, I tripped. Second, I should be able to take a scenic walk on my way home if I want to. Third, I want to get into a good college on a scholarship. And fourth-" He cut himself off and took a deep breath.

"Go on."

"No."

"Say what you were going to say."

"I said no, Yami."

"Why not?"

Yugi sighed. "Because I don't mean it. And I don't want to say something that would hurt you like that."

Yami held his gaze. "Thank you."

Yugi shrugged one shoulder. "There's no need to thank me." The bell rang and he moved to leave.

Yami caught his arm. He loosened his grip when he saw Yugi wince. "We're talking about this later."

"No we're not."

"Yugi, you need to talk about this stuff."

Yugi sneered at him. "Like you're one to talk," he muttered before pulling his arm free and walking away.

* * *

"See you tomorrow, Malik-pretty."

Malik nodded. "Yeah. See you then." He watched as Marik turned away. "Marik, wait."

Marik glanced back at him, one eyebrow raised. "Yeah?"

Malik hesitated before pecking him on the cheek. "Thanks for a great night," he mumbled.

Marik smiled. "You're welcome." Once he left, Malik walked back inside again.

Ishizu was waiting for him with a cold gaze. He frowned at her. "Don't."

"What was that?"

"Ishizu, don't."

"Did I just see you talking to the man who  _murdered_  our  _father_  and interrupted Alumuna's sacred rituals?" Ishizu hissed.

Malik glanced at Odion, who was standing beside Ishizu. He looked… tired. More so than he had ever seemed.

He smiled at Malik but it was forced. He and Ishizu had probably been arguing. Again.

It was probably about him.

Again.

"Malik, are you even listening?"

Malik turned his attention back to Ishizu. "Yes."

"Yes to what?"

"Both of them," Malik replied. "Yes, I'm listening, and yes, I was hanging out with Marik. We went to see a film."

Ishizu's eyes widened. "You  _what_?"

"You heard me, sister." Malik's voice was cool. "We went to see a film." He picked up his schoolbag. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have homework to finish."

He began walking towards the stairs that led down to his room, but Ishizu's arm blocked him.

"You are not to see or talk to him again," Ishizu hissed. "Understood? I refuse to have you converse with someone like him while you're living under my roof."

Malik laughed. It was cold and emotionless. "Oh, so it's your roof now? What happened to me being the first born son and inheriting everything here?"

Ishizu sighed. "I'm the oldest child and you can't pay a mortgage."

"Odion's older than you," Malik pointed out.

Ishizu pursed her lips. She was still in the grey area when it came to Odion. She considered him to be her brother, but her father's laws forbade it.

Or 'Alumuna's' laws forbade it.

"Malik, you're not to see him again," she insisted.

Malik glared at her. "No."

"What?" Her eyes widened again.

"I said no," Malik said, slower this time. "I don't care what you say. I don't care about the rituals or any of that crap. Marik's my friend and I'm not going to stop hanging out with him."

"Malik, our father was-"

"A controlling, abusive dick that Marik saved us from," Malik cut in. "And if you can't see that, you're no better than he was."

"Then so be it," Ishizu growled. "But I won't stand for you seeing him."

He grabbed one of the empty collectable shopping bags by the door.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving," Malik replied. "Your house, your rules. But if those are your rules, then I'm not staying here any longer."

"You don't have anywhere else to go." Ishizu folded her arms.

"Trust me," Malik snorted as he stormed downstairs to pack. "Anywhere is better than here."

By the time he had packed the end of his school books and a few pairs of clothes – only jeans and t-shirts, really – as well as his phone and charger, Ishizu had retreated to her room.

Odion waited by the door for Malik. "Will you be okay?" He asked.

Malik let out a slow breath. "Yeah. I think. I just need a break. Maybe. I don't know."

Odion nodded and hugged him. "I'll be here if you ever need me."

Malik returned the hug. "I know, Odion," he whispered. "Thank you."

Odion pulled away. "Have you got a place to stay?"

Malik nodded. "I think so."

Twenty minutes later, he was standing on Ryou's doorstep, shuffling his feet as he knocked.

A few moments later, Ryou opened the door. "Malik?"

Malik offered him a feeble smile. "Hey."

Ryou held the door open for him. "What's wrong?"

Malik hesitated. "Family stuff. Do you think I could stay with you for a bit?"

Ryou nodded. "Of course, of course. You'll need to share a room with Marik or sleep on the couch though. Sorry; I'm kind of out of spare rooms."

Malik smiled. "Thanks, Ry."

Ryou shook his head and took one of Malik's two bags. "No need Mal. You'll always be welcome here."

* * *

Yugi took deep, steadying breaths as he walked across the school yard. It had been so long since he had done this… Not since he had met Ryou and Malik over a year ago.

Rex looked up as Yugi approached. "You're back, eh?"

Yugi nodded, pulling at the sleeves of his uniform. "I guess I am."

Weevil grinned and elbowed Rex. "Didn't I tell you he'd be back?" He snickered. "Everyone always comes back."

"Oh, shut it, you two," Mai sighed. She was the only one out of the group that Yugi actually liked as a person. She nodded at Yugi, a cigarette between her fingers.

When she wasn't smoking cigarettes, she was smoking weed. When she wasn't smoking weed, she was smoking cigarettes.

Yugi didn't think he'd ever seen her without one or the other either in her hand or between her lips.

Except when she had dated Joey for a month. But once they broke up, she had gone back.

Just like Yugi was now.

Keith passed Yugi a roll and a lighter.

Yugi hesitated. Just for a second.

He had come so far. Was he really willing to throw it all away again?

…

…

…

Hell yes.

He lit the roll and took a long drag. The drag was followed by him nearly coughing a lung up.

Rex and Weevil laughed but Mai just rolled her eyes. "Take it easy there, champ. It's been a while."

Yugi nodded in agreement and took a smaller one. This time, when he let it out, he didn't start coughing.

Keith grinned and threw an arm around Yugi. "Good to have you back Mutou."

Despite the pang in his chest, Yugi returned the grin. "It's good to be back."

* * *

Ryou smiled as he curled up next to Bakura on the couch. Bakura wrapped an arm around his waist.

The fire was lighting, keeping the last of the winter chill at bay, and they had just finished watching some kind of romance film.

Bakura wasn't a fan, but Ryou loved romance as much as horror, so he had suffered through it.

Malik and Marik had gone out. Again. Just like every other night that week.

So they had the house to themselves.

"I love you," Bakura mumbled, kissing the top of Ryou's head.

Ryou nuzzled against Bakura's chest. "Love you too, Kura."

Bakura pulled Ryou onto his lap and pressed a soft, loving kiss to his lips.

They broke apart when they heard the door unlock.

Bakura groaned. "I thought they said they wouldn't be back until eight…"

"They did…" Ryou frowned and glanced at the clock. Seven.

The door swung open and Ryou's eyes widened. "M-Mum?"

Akane Bakura stood there, clinging to the arm of a man that made Ryou turn even paler.

Bakura grimaced. "Well… This is awkward…"


	13. Chapter 13

**CW: R*pe (underage, child), scarring, abuse, drugs (consensual), slur (f*g), manipulation, anxiety attack, nightmares/verbal abuse, kidnapping**

* * *

"M-Mom," Ryou choked out, his face pale. He gripped Bakura's hand tightly.

"Ryou." Akane scowled.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "And Bakura. Now we're all acquainted except for him." He nodded at the man that Akane was clinging to.

He smirked, his dark brown eyes glinting. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Yes, I would." Bakura's eyes narrowed.

"His-H-His name's T-Takato," Ryou stammered. Bakura glanced at the younger boy, but his look was ignored. "Mom, wh-what are you doing back here?"

Akane laughed. It was a shrill, cackling sound. "Ryou, this is my house too, y'know. I can come back any time I want to."

"But... you never come back..." Ryou's voice was no louder than a whisper, but Akane still heard it.

"Well this time I did." She scowled at them. "Now I think it's about time that you two leave."

Ryou jumped up, looking like nothing would please him more.

Takato, on the other hand, chuckled. "Hang on, Aka. Maybe they could stay."

Both Akane and Ryou shot him a look. "What?"

Takato turned to Akane. "There's that kink you've got that you never got to try."

A sickly smirk crept onto Akane's face. "You make a good point." She looked at Ryou. "Ryou, out. Your friend can stay."

"I'm not staying unless Ryou stays," Bakura hissed, standing next to Ryou.

Unfortunately, his statement came across the wrong way.

"What a  _fantastic_ idea," Takato said. "Both of you can join."

He took a step towards them but Bakura pushed Ryou behind him. "Stay away from him."

Takato chuckled. "You're the one that wanted him to stay."

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Bakura snarled.

Akane raised an eyebrow. "Snarky, isn't he?"

Takato nodded, still smirking. Bakura narrowed his eyes and glanced at the door. Takato stood in the way of it, and Akane would be sure to catch them if they tried to run that way.

He grabbed Ryou's hand.  _Backdoor?_  He spelled out on Ryou's palm with his thumb.

There was a pause before Ryou nodded.  _Kitchen,_  he spelled out on Bakura's hand.

Takato took the nod as a sign that they were agreeing to his suggestion. "Good boys."

He took a step towards them. The two boys bolted for the kitchen.

Takato laughed and chased after them. "It's pointless."

"Oh go fuck yourself," Bakura yelled over his shoulder.

"I'd rather fuck your little boyfriend."

Ryou tensed but continued pelting towards the backdoor. Bakura ripped it open and they ran outside, slamming it shut behind them.

They continued running. Ryou's breathing grew laboured and he stumbled, but Bakura grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

Finally, they slowed to a halt at Domino park.

Bakura glanced behind them, panting for breath.

Takato was nowhere to be seen.

Ryou sat down on a bench beside Bakura. He closed his eyes, gripping the edges of the wooden seat tightly. His breath was coming in large gulps and gasps.

"Are you okay?" Bakura asked, nudging him.

He nodded. "Y-ye-yeah, ju-just... give me a-a moment..."

Bakura nodded and sat down beside him. For a few minutes, Ryou's breathing was the only thing that either of them could hear.

Bakura stood up again. "I'll be back in a minute."

Ryou nodded, his eyes still closed. He didn't have the energy to protest.

Bakura strode over to a nearby vending machine and dug his hand into his pocket, searching for change. Two hundred yen. He glanced at the machine.

Water was a hundred and ninety yen. He nodded and pressed a button to order water before feeding his money to the machine.

Nothing happened.

He scowled. "C'mon..." He glanced behind him to make sure that Ryou was still there.

He tapped his foot impatiently and glanced down when he heard a crackle of paper.

He picked up the paper. It had tape on it, so it had likely fallen from the machine.

Out of order.

He growled and kicked the machine. The water fell from its shelf and landed in the collecting dish.

Bakura smirked and picked it up before walking back to Ryou. "Here."

Ryou looked up at him, still breathing hard. "T-thanks..." His hand shook as he took the water and opened it.

Bakura sat beside him, waiting patiently as he drained half the bottle.

When Ryou closed the bottle, Bakura wrapped an arm around him. Ryou leaned against him, his head resting on Bakura's shoulder.

"What was that?" Bakura murmured, his voice soft. "With your mom and whoever that was."

"T-Takato," Ryou mumbled. "His name's Takato... And i-it's a long story."

"Then it's a good thing we have plenty of time."

Ryou shook his head. "N-Not yet, Kura. Just... soon. I promise."

* * *

"I am  _never_  going shopping with you  _ever_  again," Marik huffed as he flopped into one of the café armchairs.

Malik chuckled as he sat across from Marik. "Oh come on, it wasn't that bad."

Marik shot him a look and held up the bags in his hands.

Malik rolled his eyes. "You bought at least half of that stuff."

Marik shrugged. "I guess. I'm still never going clothes shopping with you again."

"The fact that you came in the first place surprise me," Malik laughed.

Marik shrugged again. He glanced into the bag. "How come you bought guys' clothes as well?"

Malik looked down. His shoulders hunched and he began rubbing his palms together. "Ishizu really believes in heteronormativity, so... yeah."

Marik rolled his eyes. "Cultist."

"Hey!"

"Not you. Her."

"I know, but still." Malik kept his gaze down. "She was brought up with it. It's all she really knows."

"She should still know the difference between right and wrong," Marik scoffed. "You shouldn't have to feel uncomfortable in the clothes you wear."

Malik shrugged. "Part of life, I guess."

"No; it's not." Marik picked up one of the bags and held it out to Malik. "Go put it on."

Malik hesitated. "But-"

"Go. Now," Marik insisted.

Malik hesitated but took the bag and peered into it. "I didn't pick this out..."

"As you said; I bought half of this stuff. Doesn't mean that I bought it for myself," Marik pointed out. "Now go. I want to see it on you."

Malik nodded and walked towards the bathroom. The waitress came out a few moments later and Marik just ordered a water for himself and some complicated sounding coffee for Malik.

The waitress nodded and winked at him as she left. Marik rolled his eyes.  _You're barking up the wrong tree, lady._

"Marik?"

Marik looked up as Malik approached. He seemed more hesitant than before. His gaze flitted around the café, taking in the double glances and scowls of everyone, even if they weren't directed at him.

He was holding the bag Marik had given him, which now presumably held his old outfit of jeans and a t-shirt. Now, he wore a pair of shorts that faded from light purple to blue with square-shaped sequins and a pair of light purple converse boots. He also wore a darker purple t-shirt with the print of a mouse using its tail as a moustache and a black, zip-up hoodie with white stripes on the pockets and hood and small, white mice prints everywhere else on it. His hair had been loosened a bit so that it was no longer brushed back in an effort to make it seem shorter than it really was, and the silver necklace that Marik had gotten him with a key charm on it was around his neck.

Marik grinned. "You look great, Malik-pretty."

Malik met his gaze. "Really?" Marik nodded.

Malik's hesitance seemed to fade and his usual, confident aura returned, but it was different. It didn't seem forced this time.

He sat down across from Marik again as the waitress returned with their drinks. She smiled at Marik but hesitated as she handed Malik his coffee.

Malik looked down and mumbled a quiet 'thank you'.

Marik frowned. "What was that?" He asked once the waitress left.

Malik took a sip of his coffee. "This is delicious. What is it?"

"Malik."

"What?"

"What was that?"

Malik sighed. "Nothing."

"It didn't seem like nothing to me." Malik looked away. Marik sighed. "I think you should try to get counselling, Malik-pretty."

Malik's head shot up. "Why?"

"You're still hurt by your dad and sister."

"Yeah, but-"

"But what?"

Malik hesitated. He rubbed his palms together again. "I... don't know..."

Marik reached over and grasped Malik's hand. "Just... just try it. You were fine when you came with me yesterday."

"Yeah, but..." Malik hesitated. "That was different. It was with you."

"I don't mind going with you the first time," Marik offered. "I can keep going with you until you decide you're ready to go alone."

Malik bit his lip. "Really?"

Marik nodded. "Of course. They'd have to drag me kicking and screaming out of the building to get me to leave you in there before you're ready. And even then, I'd be pulling the counsellor with me."

Malik giggled. "Okay. I'll try it."

* * *

Yugi hesitated at the bushes. "Mutou?" Rex raised an eyebrow. "Are you in or out?"

Yugi looked around. The familiar abandoned train station gave him no comfort, nor did the wall of the bridge that he was about to go under. "Yeah," he mumbled.

Mai grinned at him and patted his shoulder before gracefully gliding through the bushes. Rex and Weevil chased after her, looking more like blind bears as they barrelled through the leaves and branches.

Yugi took a deep breath before following them. He slipped in the mud and fell down the steep trail, landing hard on the concrete below.

He groaned and looked up as silence fell upon the clearing. Everyone's eyes were on him. Then a cheer broke the silence and everyone rushed at him.

"Great entrance," Valon laughed, thumping Yugi hard on the back. "Good to see you back, man."

Yugi laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, good to see you too."

Soon, the crowd parted enough for Yugi to make his escape. He made his way over to Jaden, Jesse and Chazz, who were two familiar faces that didn't annoy him as much as Rex and Weevil. "Why are they all treating me like I'm a celebrity?"

"Because you are one!" Jaden laughed, throwing an arm around Yugi's neck. "You've become a legend with all the shit you pulled when you were first here."

Yugi raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Chazz snorted and took another sip from the can in his hand. "For once, the slacker isn't exaggerating."

Jaden frowned at him. "What do you mean  _for once_?"

"Don't start this again," Jesse groaned. Out of the three, he was the only one who never got high. He occasionally had a bit to drink, but that was it.

He was always given the position of designated driver. Not that he seemed to mind.

The only reason he even went was to make sure that Chazz and Jaden didn't overdo it. Neither of them were bad.

Well, yeah they were.

Chazz just did it because he could. Yugi suspected that it was to do with his brothers. Jaden... well Yugi didn't know why he did drugs. He never asked and Jaden never volunteered the information.

"Hey, Yugi!" Atticus grabbed the younger boy and offered him a roll of weed. "Here. Have some. It's on the house."

Yugi grinned and took it, lighting it with his own lighter. Well, his grandpa's. He paused and looked at the lighter before shaking his head and shoving it into his pocket.

He wouldn't find out. He was in Egypt for the next two weeks anyway.

The next few hours blurred into one another.

Yugi passed from person to person, laughing and stumbling and falling just like he had on his first night. He couldn't breathe. He was trapped.

There was a cliff. He was going to fall.

Oh gods he was going to fall!

"Guys, give him some room! Gods' sake, he's had too much!" He heard someone yell.

"He's fine! You worry too much; look at him! He's having the time of his life!"

Couldn't they see that he was about to fall off a cliff? No. Okay then.

That's fine.

He felt someone grasp his arm and pull him closer to the cliff. He struggled. If they weren't going to save him, that didn't mean they had to push him.

"Yugi, calm down. It's only me."

He recognised that voice.

"Shit, he's had way too much..."

He felt hot all over. Oh gods.

He was going to be sick.

He stumbled and threw up. He heard laughter and cheering.

"Relax, Jesse. Just give him some more and he'll be fine. Here, Yugi. Eat this."

Yugi took whatever it was that was being handed to him and swallowed it. Again, the hours blurred. Or was it minutes?

He didn't even know.

He felt someone grasp his shoulders and looked up to see Jesse with a stony face. "We're going."

Yugi laughed and pulled away from him.

"Yugi, come on." Now it was Jaden. "Jesse's giving us a lift home. You should come too. It's nearly midnight."

Midnight? It was only midnight? Oh hell no.

No way was he leaving yet.

"Then go!" He called. He couldn't hear himself. Was everyone else talking? It seemed like it.

"Yugi, come on. You've had enough."

Chazz too? He didn't usually get worried so easily.

Yugi rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine. Mai'll drop me home. Or this guy." He pointed to someone he didn't know. "Who are you again?"

"Yuma," the boy replied. "And I don't have a car."

"Mai then," Yugi decided. "And Yuma'll come with us and stay over or something."

"Yugi, you've had enough," Jesse insisted.

"Listen to the guy, Jess," Valon said, glaring at the teal-haired male. "Just head home. We'll take care of him."

"Yeah," Yugi agreed.

Jesse rolled his eyes. "Since when have you ever been able to take care of anyone?"

"Since always!" Valon shot back, lurching slightly. The beer in his can sloshed over the side.

"Just go," Yugi whined. "I wanna stay!"

"Yugi, seriously," Jaden tried. "We promised to take you home."

"Then unpromise whoever you promised!" Weevil snickered. His nose was red. "He's not going anywhere just yet."

Jesse looked at Yugi again. "Last chance."

Yugi shoved at him, but missed. "Go on. I'll get home on my own."

"If you're sure," Jesse sighed.

Jaden looked at Jesse. "But-"

"He wants to stay, so we'll let him stay. He's old enough to make his own decisions," Jesse replied. His face was stony. "Chazz, you ready?"

"Been ready for a while now," Chazz snorted. "Let's go, slacker."

Jaden hesitated, glancing at Yugi once more before following Chazz and Jaden out from beneath the old train bridge.

Yugi grinned and sloppily kissed Valon's cheek. "You're the best," he slurred.

Valon laughed, playfully shoving him away. "I know I am. You don't need to kiss me to prove it." He held up a tray with white powder on it. "Want to try something new?"

Yugi grinned. "You bet."

* * *

Malik groaned as he opened his eyes. His phone was ringing. "Shut it off," Marik grumbled next to him.

Malik glanced at the clock by his bed. Half one. He sighed and answered it. "Hello?" He mumbled, rubbing an eye.

"Malik, where are you?" Yami.

"Motel," he muttered in response. "Near the park. Ryou and Bakura are in the next room."

"Why are you-?"

"Dunno. Ryou told us that we couldn't go back to his house right now." Malik sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the double bed.

Marik grumbled in complaint at the loss of warmth and curled up under the blankets.

Malik smiled softly at the other's actions. "So what's up?"

"Yugi's missing," Yami replied.

Malik frowned. "What?"

"He's missing and I don't know where to look."

Malik bit his lip. "What did he say to you when you last saw him?"

Yami hesitated. "He just said that he was going to meet up with some old friends."

Malik's blood ran cold. "I know where he is," he mumbled. "Ryou and I'll get him. You stay there." He hung up without another word.

Marik opened one eye, looking up at him. "Malik-pretty?"

"I'll be back soon." Malik petted Marik's hair. "You sleep some more."

Marik nodded and closed his eye again. Malik pulled on the clothes that he had worn earlier that day before leaving the room and crossing the hall to Ryou and Bakura's door.

He knocked until Ryou came to the door, looking tired and annoyed. "Malik, what-?"

"Yugi's gone back."

Ryou froze. "The Wreck?"

"The Wreck."

"I'll get dressed." Ryou moved back into the room.

Malik took a step in as well and had to duck to avoid a projectile pillow. "That's for waking us," Bakura muttered, lowering his arm again.

"Sorry," Malik muttered, running a hand through his hair.

Bakura frowned and sat up. "Did you just apologise?"

"Yeah. What's it to you?" Malik snapped.

"Both of you stop acting like children," Ryou scolded as he pulled on his t-shirt and jeans. "Bakura, I need to go. I'll be back soon."

"Ryou, it's the middle of the night."

"I know, but this is important," Ryou insisted.

Bakura snorted but nodded. "See you soon then."

Ryou chuckled. "Get some more sleep." He turned to Malik. "Ready to go?"

Malik nodded and they left the room.

* * *

Yugi stumbled as he tried to follow Rex and Weevil. Mai had left a while ago. Keith hadn't shown up in the first place.

So now, he was stuck with them.

Black dots swam at the edges of his eyes and he threw up again.

Rex sighed. "You really haven't done this in two years, have you?"

Yugi shook his head. Weevil grinned. "Well you're starting in time for your sixteenth birthday. That's in a few months, right?"

Yugi nodded. "Perfect," Rex chuckled. "You'll have gotten used to it by then. We'll get you a 'cake'."

"You guys are the best," Yugi laughed feebly.

"New friends of yours?"

The three paused at the sound of the new voice. In front of them, a burly figure with dark hair leaned against the wall.

Yugi's face paled. The shock was almost enough to sober him up. "U-Ushio..."

Ushio smirked and stood, walking towards him. He glanced at Rex and Weevil. "Get out of here."

The two hesitated, glancing at Yugi. "But-"

"Go!"

They ran without another word.

Ushio laughed. "Some friends you've got."

Yugi hesitated. "They-they're not..."

"What happened to those two that were with you in the alley? Malik and Ryou, wasn't it?" Ushio asked. "Did they finally decide to ditch you?" He grabbed Yugi by the hem of his shirt. "It's about time they made the right decision."

He pulled back his fist to punch Yugi, but he was knocked sideways by something. Yugi stumbled as he was released and fell into someone. "Yugi, are you okay?"

He looked up, trying to focus on the person who had spoken. "R-Ryou...?"

Ryou smiled at him, his gaze worried but reassuring. Yugi looked back at Ushio to see Malik standing over him. Malik in... girls' clothes?

When had that happened?

"Come near Yugi again and I'll rip your eyes out," Malik spat.

Ushio chuckled. "Where was that bravado in the alley, fag?"

"Don't call me that." Malik kicked him hard. "And I think you forgot that your friends aren't here this time."

Ushio hesitated as though only noticing this now.

"Get out of here," Malik growled, turning back to Yugi.

Ushio didn't exactly scramble away, but he wasn't slow about leaving either.

Tears were falling from Yugi's eyes and he sobbed in Ryou's arms. He fell into a sitting position and Ryou followed him to the floor, still holding him. Malik crouched down next to the sobbing boy. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Yugi shook his head. "I-I-I'm s-sorry," he cried.

Ryou held him closer, gently rocking him back and forth on the alley street. "It's okay," he cooed, his voice soft. Malik shot Ryou a look but Ryou ignored him. He ran his hand through Yugi's hair. "It wasn't your fault."

"Ryou, stop doting on him," Malik scoffed. He gripped Yugi's chin, forcing the smaller boy to look at him. "Yugi, you fucked up. It was your fault. But you know what? Everyone does it sometimes."

Yugi hiccupped, watching Malik. "Y-you're not mad?"

"Oh, I'm mad," Malik assured him. "And so are Ryou and Yami. But we'll get over it."

However, this didn't seem to be what Yugi needed to hear at that moment, for he began crying even harder. "I-I'm s-s-sorry... I'm s-sorry-y..."

Ryou frowned at Malik and continued stroking Yugi's hair. "It's okay, Yugi. Just calm down. We'll bring you home." Eventually, Yugi's tears stopped.

He looked between Malik and Ryou. "How're you doing now?" Ryou asked.

Yugi hesitated. "I just really want a milkshake," he giggled, his eyes still red from crying.

Malik rolled his eyes. "Sorry, shrimp. No milkshakes for you." He wrapped an arm around Yugi's waist. Ryou did the same and between them, they managed to pull him up. "Think you can walk?"

"Maybe," Yugi replied. He took a shaky step forward. He didn't fall, but only because Ryou and Malik were supporting him.

Ryou sighed. "We're not going to get a cab at this hour," he muttered. "The game shop's not far though..."

Malik nodded. "C'mon, Yugi. Let's get you home."

* * *

Yami paced up and down through the aisles of the shop. He and Yugi had been switching shifts regularly since Solomon had left a few days ago.

Yugi usually took the after-school shifts to give Yami time to do his homework and then Yami would take the shifts in the evenings after eight and on weekends to give Yugi a break.

Neither of them conversed much so when Yugi had left, Yami hadn't questioned him much.

 _I really messed up._ He groaned, running a hand through his hair.

He looked up every time the door to the game shop opened and was always met by disappointment when it was a late night customer.

After a while, he had just closed the shop. He knew that Ryou and Malik would come in anyway.

He dusted the shelves. He checked inventory. He swept the floor. He counted the money in the cash register. He checked inventory again.

Anything to keep himself occupied. He looked at the clock and bit back a yawn. It was nearly four. Yugi was lucky that it was a Sunday tomorrow.

Or was it today? Today. Yeah, today.

Yami paused mid-yawn as he heard the familiar ring of the bell that signalled the door opening. He looked up and relief washed over him as Yugi stumbled inside with Ryou and Malik helping him.

Ryou smiled at him sleepily. "Found him."

"Thank you," Yami sighed. "Sorry for waking you. Do you want to stay here for the rest of the night or-?"

"Nah, the motel's not too far away," Malik replied. He patted Yugi's shoulder. "Just keep an eye on him. Make sure he's okay."

Yami nodded. "I will." Once Ryou and Malik had left, he ran over to Yugi. "Yugi." Yugi wouldn't look at him. Yami crouched down on one knee, placing his hands on Yugi's shoulders. "Yugi, look at me."

Yugi hesitated before raising his gaze.

His eyes were bloodshot. Possibly from crying. Possibly from something else. His nose was red. His whole face was red. He was probably running a fever.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Yami asked, barely able to stop himself from shouting. As it was, Yugi flinched from the sound. "For Ra's sake, Yugi! I thought you had been mugged or-or killed or something. Just- what the hell?"

Yugi seemed to be trying to look away, but he couldn't. Fresh tears formed in his eyes. Yami took a deep breath to calm himself down and he pulled Yugi into a hug. "I'm sorry. I'm just glad you're safe." Yugi didn't return the hug. "Please. Please don't do that to me again."

There was a pause. Yami thought Yugi was about to reply, but instead, he pulled away.

Yami frowned. "Yugi?"

Without a word, Yugi walked past Yami. Yami stood again, watching as Yugi walked towards the stairs that led up to the house section of the game shop – which Yami avoided as much as possible. It may have been converted so that it looked less like an attic, but it was still a converted attic.

Yugi paused at the bottom of the stairs and glanced at Yami. Yami opened his mouth to say something.

Anything.

He wasn't sure what.

Maybe to ask what was going on, maybe to scold him, maybe to apologise.

Maybe to say he loved him.

But before he could say anything, Yugi looked away again and walked upstairs, leaving Yami alone in the game shop.

* * *

Bakura was still awake when Ryou returned. "Everything okay?" He asked once Ryou closed the door.

Ryou jumped at the sound of his voice. "I thought you had gone back to sleep..." He gripped his chest. "Don't do that again."

Bakura shrugged a shoulder. "Sorry." He didn't sound it.

Ryou sighed and made his way over to the double bed. "Everything's fine. Yugi just ran into a bit of trouble," he replied.

Bakura wrapped his arms around Ryou and pulled him down beside him. "I was talking about you," he murmured.

Ryou looked away. "I'm fine."

"No you're not." Bakura cupped his cheek. "Ryou, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Ryou insisted. "I just don't sleep well when I'm not at home."

"You were sleeping fine before Malik woke you." Bakura gently rubbed Ryou's cheek with his thumb. "What's going on with that Takato guy you saw earlier?"

Ryou tensed and shook his head. "Not now..."

"Ryou... Take it from someone who knows," Bakura said, "if you keep saying 'not now', you'll never be ready."

Ryou hesitated, looking up at him. "When... when I was about eight or nine, my mom met him at a coffee shop. This was before she got into drugs. I was actually really happy; he was the first person that my mom got serious with after my dad and he was really nice to me. But then after a few months, he began getting my mom into drugs. He was still nice to me so I didn't really mind. I didn't even know what drugs did at-at the time..." He swallowed.

Bakura gave him a reassuring smile. "You're doing great."

Ryou shakily nodded. "One day, I came home from school and... And he was different. Drunk, or high, or something. I don't know. But he... he had a camera set up in my mom's room. He... he said we were going to make a video to show her as a surprise when she got home. S-so I followed him in there and..." He choked on a sob, throwing his arms around Bakura.

Bakura held him close, rubbing his back as Ryou cried into his chest.

"And-and-a-and h-he..." Ryou hiccupped. "H-he r-r-recorded t-the w-whole t-thing..."

"What whole thing?" Bakura murmured softly.

Ryou shook his head, tears pouring from his eyes. "H-H-H-He r-r-r-r..." He took in a shaky breath. "R-r-raped m-me..."

Bakura's arms tightened around him but Ryou pulled away. "Ryou-"

"No!" Ryou wrapped his arms around himself. "Y-you probably h-h-hate me now..."

Bakura shook his head. "Why on earth would I hate you?"

"B-because of th-that..." Ryou cried. "A-a-and th-this..." He shakily lifted the side of his shirt to reveal a scar on his hip. It was a sloppily carved T. "H-he d-did it-t a-a-after... S-so that I-I'd alw-ways remem-em-ember it... Wh-what-t he did-d-d..."

Bakura pulled him into a hug, ignoring his muffled protests. "It wasn't your fault, Ryou," he murmured softly. His hands were shaking slightly. Ryou's protests died down though he was still crying. "And I could never hate you. Especially not for something like that."

"B-but I-I-"

"You were the victim. You're not to blame for what happened," Bakura murmured. "And besides." He pressed a soft kiss to Ryou's lips to hide his slight hesitation. "I love you."

Ryou's teary eyes widened and he looked up at Bakura. Sure they had kissed, and he supposed they were dating. He hadn't asked Bakura, and Bakura hadn't asked him but they seemed to agree that they were dating anyway.

But... love wasn't a word that Ryou threw around lightly. He loved three people in this world.

Yugi, and Malik. As friends of course. But they had been there for him through everything. They mightn't have known about everything, but they had still been there.

And the third person... There never used to be a third person.

Ryou didn't even know why he came up with the figure three. Usually it was two.

Bakura was watching him, not expectantly. Just watching him. He didn't need Ryou to say it, and Ryou knew that.

But a soft smile still crossed his lips. "I-I love you too."

* * *

"You're not good enough."

Yugi blinked. He could have sworn-

"You'll never be good enough."

"Anzu?" He looked around. He was in the middle of the game shop. He spotted Anzu at the end of the video game aisle. "Anzu, aren't you meant to be packing?" Anzu had been accepted into a dance academy in New York on a scholarship and had been spending the past few days packing.

She just glared at him.

"She's right, Yugi."

"Ryou?" Yugi whipped around.

The white-haired boy was standing near the till. "Why have you been getting it so easy?" He sneered. "When all of us have been going through all of this?"

"I..."

"You deserve pain." Bakura walked up beside Yugi. "You deserve to go through what we did for those eight years."

"I don't... I don't know... W-what are you saying?" Yugi whimpered.

"Didn't you hear him?" He turned to see Malik standing by the case of Duel Monsters cards. "You should have. Or have you gone deaf? Poor little Yugi. Just another thing to be pitied over."

"Maybe Yami should get him into BDSM," Marik snickered. "That way he'll feel the pain we went through."

"That's not what BDSM is like," Tristan sighed, approaching Malik and Marik. "BDSM is meant to be trust between partners and knowing that your dominant won't hurt you. Not that Fifty Shades crap."

"Exactly," Duke agreed. "Yugi needs to be hurt. Not to be able to put his trust in Yami."

Marik shrugged. "I guess so."

"Maybe you could get into your old house," Joey suggested, coming up behind Yugi with Seto. "You could use some of the things your dad and uncle used on you."

Bakura smirked. "That's not a bad idea. For a dog."

"I'm not a dog!" Joey spat.

Seto chuckled. "Calm down, puppy. Take your anger out on Yugi. Not Bakura. Yugi deserves it more. After all, he's the one who has it easiest and yet he's the one who brings pain on himself by doing drugs with his old 'friends'."

Yugi stumbled back as his friends surrounded him. He looked for an exit. There was a gap between Bakura and Marik.

He ran for it but suddenly, Yami was blocking his way. Tears filled his eyes as he looked up at him. "Please, Mou Hitori..."

Yami just smirked and pushed him back into the circle. He didn't say anything.

He didn't have to.

Yugi's eyes flashed open and he sat jolt upright in bed. His head was swimming and he looked around. It was dark.

His hands clenched the sheets beneath him tightly.

 _Just a dream._ He squeezed his eyes shut.  _Just a dream. Just a dream._

His hands shook and his breath came in laboured gasps.  _Just a dream just a dream just a dream._

He shook his head and pulled the covers off, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed. Maybe a drink would calm him down. His eyes shot open again when he heard his floorboards creak.

His mouth dropped open, but before he could scream, a large hand muffled him.

"Hello, little one," he heard a familiar voice chuckle. "I think it's about time that you gave me back my nephews. Don't you?"


	14. Chapter 14

**CW: Homophobic attack, slur (f*g), singling out for wearing skirts**

* * *

"Malik-pretty, don't put that on!"

Malik paused in the midst of pulling on his school jacket. He looked up as Marik ran into his room. "Uh… okay?"

He felt awkward in the uniform. It had been about a week since he and Ryou had gotten Yugi back from the Wreck. A week of Yugi looking horrible and Malik feeling horrible at school.

A week of wearing girls' clothes outside of school but being forced to wear boys' clothes in school.

Marik grinned and pulled something out from behind his back, holding it out to Malik.

Malik frowned in confusion, taking the package wrapped in clear plastic. His eyes widened.

Blue bow tie, pink jacket, blue skirt and white socks.

"You… got me the girls' uniform?" He looked up at Marik.

Marik hesitated. "Well… Bakura helped a bit."

Malik grinned and threw his arms around Marik. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

Marik wrapped his arms around Malik's waist and kissed his cheek. "You're welcome, Malik-pretty." He grinned at him. "Now go change."

Malik nodded and released him. Marik left the room and he quickly changed into the girls' uniform. He glanced in the mirror, fixing his hair.

A smile crept onto his face. It was  _perfect._  He heard a knock on the door.

"Can I come in now?" Marik asked.

"Sure!" Malik slipped on a pair of brown loafers that he had gotten at the mall when Marik had gone shopping with him. He turned to face Marik as the other opened the door.

Marik grinned. "You look great, Malik-pretty."

Malik's face flushed. "Thanks, Mar." He pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Come on; we should get to school."

"Yeah, the bus is already here," Marik agreed.

Malik's eyes widened. "What?" He grabbed his bag and Marik's hand, pulling him downstairs.

"Relax!" Marik laughed. "Bakura and Ryou are holding it for us."

"Doesn't matter!" Malik released Marik's hand to grab a bagel left out on the table for him before running outside.

Marik followed him, still chuckling and shaking his head. Despite Malik's worry, the two had gotten the bus driver to wait for them.

Though the driver did glare at them as they got on. Malik specifically.

Malik gave her a shrug of apology and sat in one of the nearest free seats. Marik sat down beside him.

The bus ride was filled with laughter and conversations that seemed more hushed than usual. Malik tried to pay no heed to it but his shoulders hunched.

Marik placed a hand on his knee and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Relax," he murmured. "It'll be fine."

Malik looked up at him. "Are you sure?" He mumbled.

Marik nodded. "Yeah." He grinned. "Just send people to me if they give you any trouble."

Malik chuckled and nodded. The bus slowed to a halt in front of the school. People bumped into Malik on their way to the school yard. More than usual.

But Marik, Bakura and Ryou shielded him from most of it. When they reached their group of friends, questions bombarded the Egyptian.

"Malik!"

"What are you wearing?"

"Why are you wearing the girls' uniform?"

"What? Just… what?"

"How did you even get it?"

"Is this your way as coming out as trans to us?"

Seeing that Malik was growing panicked by all the questions, Ryou put his fingers between his lips and let out an ear-piercing whistle, silencing everyone. "Thank you. Now can you give Malik a minute to actually answer your questions?" He raised an eyebrow.

Everyone sheepishly looked down or shuffled their feet. "Thanks," Malik mumbled to Ryou.

He turned to the others. Yugi and Anzu weren't there.

Anzu was to be expected, what with her moving soon.

Yugi… he wasn't sure. He would need to ask Yami later.

He sighed. "I'm wearing the girls' uniform because I find girls' clothes more comfortable and I just prefer them. Marik and Bakura managed to get it for me." He hesitated. "I'm not sure how." He put on a dramatic expression. "And yes. I'm trans… I'm a girl in a boy's body… I hate how I look and I'd like you to call me…" He paused for dramatic effect. "…Malika."

There was total silence. "Really?" Tristan asked.

Malik giggled. "Nah, just wanted to see your expressions. I'm a boy. I just like girls' clothes." He shrugged.

The bell rang and people jostled by them. "Come on." Marik wrapped an arm around Malik. "Let's go to class."

Malik sighed but nodded in agreement. He followed Marik to their first class but was stopped before he even got to sit down.

"Very funny, Ishtar."

Malik paused and looked up at his teacher. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sure everyone's had a laugh and you've gotten the attention that you wanted," Yoshikuni sneered. "Now the joke's over. Go change."

Malik shifted uncomfortably. All attention was on him. "I-into what?"

"Into your uniform." Yoshikuni glared at him. "Go on; you've already wasted enough class time."

Malik hesitated. "But… this is my uniform…"

"Ishtar, the joke's over," Yoshikuni hissed.

"There is no joke, sensei," Marik protested. "Malik's wearing his uniform. What's the problem?"

Yoshikuni just glared. "To the principal's office."

Malik's eyes widened. " _What_?"

"Now!" Yoshikuni glared at him. Malik picked up his bag again and left the class.

Marik went to follow him but Yoshikuni stopped him. "You stay here, Sennen."

She followed Malik out of the class. They were only outside the office for a minute or so before they were let in.

Yoshikuni pushed Malik down into the chair, her nails digging into his shoulder. He winced but didn't say anything.

The principal looked between her and Malik and took off his glasses. "Is there a problem?"

"He's wearing the girls' uniform," Yoshikuni hissed. "No doubt as a way to entertain his friends."

The principal looked at Malik. "Is this true?"

"No!" Malik insisted. "I'm wearing it because I find girls' clothes more comfortable."

Yoshikuni clicked her tongue. The principal looked back at her and leaned back in his chair. "What do you want me to do about it?"

Yoshikuni stiffened. " _What?"_

The principal shook his head. "The school rules say that each student must wear a school uniform except on specified non-uniform days. He's wearing the uniform."

"But he-"

"The rules say nothing about which uniform people have to wear." The principal put on his glasses again. "Go on; get back to class," he said to Malik. "I have work to do."

Malik grinned and stood up, ignoring the glare that Yoshikuni sent him. He skipped back to class and grinned at Marik as he sat down.

"You okay?" Marik asked.

He giggled and nodded. "I'm great!"

* * *

Yami picked at his food, uninterested in working out whether or not it was beef in his burger or something unidentifiable.

Everyone around him was chatting, though Malik and Ryou less so than usual. He had tried to get information out of them about what had happened with Yugi the previous night, but they hadn't told him.

Something about him needing to ask Yugi himself.

He would if Yugi would actually  _talk_  to him. Yugi hadn't gotten up until around four or five in the evening on Sunday, and just outright ignored Yami.

He had made his way to the fridge, gotten some milk and cheese and went back upstairs.

Yami had tried to follow him, despite the fear gnawing at him, but Yugi had just closed the door in his face. When he tried to go into Yugi's room, he had nearly been whacked by a pillow, so he decided to wait for a while.

"Hey, Yams?" Yami glanced over at Duke and raised an eyebrow to show that he was listening. "Where's Yugi? He doesn't usually miss school."

Yami shrugged and took a bite out of his burger. He forced himself to swallow it rather than spit it out. "He's sick. Wouldn't even come out of his room this morning."

Duke frowned. "Really?"

Yami nodded. "He text me to say he couldn't talk because of his throat and he had thrown up. I tried to check up on him but his door was locked."

It always seemed to be these days.

Duke was still frowning. "It was locked?"

Yami nodded. "Yeah."

"And you don't think that was odd?"

Yami shrugged. "Not really. Should I?"

"Yes!" Duke shook his head, incredulous. "Yugi  _never_  misses school. He and Ryou are complete freaks about attendance. He came to school with appendicitis and wouldn't go home until he had to be brought to hospital. And he  _text_  you that he was so sick he couldn't come in?"

Yami shrugged. "He couldn't talk. No point."

At this point, Tristan joined in. "That happens about twice a year for him. He always just brings in a notepad to write down what he wants to say."

Yami frowned. It was strange. It was worrying, actually. "I'll check on him when I get home," he said.

"Call him!" Tristan protested.

Duke glanced at him. "Tristan. The kid can't talk."

Tristan paused. "Oh yeah…"

Yami rolled his eyes. "As I said, I'll check on him when I get home. Okay?"

* * *

"No no no," Ryou insisted. "Batman would still win."

"No he wouldn't!" Malik insisted. "Deadpool can't  _die_!"

"But Batman's been paired up against so many other heroes from both DC and Marvel and he's won against all of them!" Ryou frowned.

"Deadpool. Can't. Die," Malik repeated. "Batman can't beat him."

"Yes. He can." Ryou readjusted his bag strap. They were about half way to the motel – he still wasn't sure if it was safe to go back or not. He wasn't sure the journey would be long enough to finish the debate. "Sure, he'd lose a few times, but Deadpool would enjoy fighting him too much to finish him off. He'd just mess with him."

"Exactly! Deadpool can mess with Batman when no one else would even try!" Malik ran a hand through his hair. "That proves that he's confident in his ability to beat him!"

"Too confident." Ryou looked up at him. "Yes, Deadpool can't die – supposedly. Cut his arm off and he can put it back. But there is a way to kill him. Throughout the fights, Batman would learn Deadpool's fighting style. Sure Deadpool's only messing with him, and Batman knows this. But he's using this to his advantage and analysing every move that Deadpool makes and calculating the other ones he could have made based on his decision and overall style. Batman has throwing knives. He uses them. Cuts off both Deadpool's arms and legs and moves them away before he can re-attach them. Then he cuts off Deadpool's head. He cuts up his chest, arms and legs into different parts and then locks all of the parts in different metal boxes and then drops each box into a different active volcano. Thus killing him by destroying the atoms through incineration, or at least defeating him as his parts are too far apart to reassemble."

"No, that still doesn't work." Malik shook his head. "Deadpool can teleport."

Ryou hesitated. "Really?" Malik nodded. "Okay, give me a second." He tilted his head back. "Got it. If they were to fight, then it would have to be in an alternate universe. And if it was in an alternate universe, it would have to be in one that allowed teleportation for Deadpool to teleport, so Batman would easily make a teleporting device. He has a lot of connections, so he gets into a fight with Deadpool, cuts off his finger, teleports to a lab, drops the finger off and returns to the fight. Meanwhile, the scientists are working on a chemical that reverses the chemicals that made Deadpool what he is. Once they're done, Batman teleports there, grabs the needle and teleports back. He lets Deadpool get close to him, lets him stab him and then injects him with the chemical, making him mortal again. He then knocks him out. Now Batman's almost dead, but he's still conscious and at full power. Deadpool is human and no longer at full power. The cancer will continue to kill him. So Batman wins and he doesn't need to kill him; he only needs to keep him captive until the cancer kills him."

Malik stared at him. "You've thought about this  _way_  too much."

Ryou giggled and shrugged. "So sue me. I like DC."

"And I like Marvel but shit, Ryou. That sounds like about five weeks of research."

Ryou looked up at the sky. "Actually, it was about ten hours."

Malik shook his head in disbelief. "Again.  _Way_  too much thought into it."

"Unlike the amount of thought you put into wearing that uniform, ay Ishtar?"

The two glanced around. Malik clenched a fist. "Don't you ever take a hint?" He growled.

"No, not really." Ushio grinned. "I just go with my stomach, and right now, I'm craving vengeance."

Malik turned to face him fully. "Ryou, stay behind me."

"But-"

"Stay. Behind. Me," he growled.

"You should listen to your tranny boyfriend," Bonz snickered.

Malik glared at him. "I'm not trans, and Ryou and I aren't dating."

"Odd. You spend so much time together and everyone in your 'rainbow group' seems to be dating someone."

"Yeah, that doesn't mean we're dating."

"Whatever." Ushio strode towards him. Malik's hand shot out and he slammed the tips of his fingers into the man's neck.

Ushio staggered back, clutching his throat.

Sid darted behind Malik but Malik punched him hard in the nose before he could get to Ryou. This left time for Bonz and Zygor to get behind him.

Malik managed to catch Bonz and throw him at Ushio, but Zygor got to Ryou. He slammed into the smaller boy, pinning him against the wall and twisting his arm behind his back.

Ryou yelled in pain and tried to kick Zygor, but the man just tightened his hold on Ryou's arm.

"Let him go!" Malik snarled.

"Make me." Zygor smirked.

Malik's eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't have said that." He pulled something out of his pocket and sprayed it in Zygor's face.

Zygor screamed and fell back, covering his face. "My eyes!"

Malik caught Ryou as he stumbled back. "You okay, Ry?"

Ryou nodded. "Y-yeah."

"Let's go." He began running, making sure to keep pace with Ryou.

"What did you spray him with?" Ryou asked as they ducked into a large second-hand shop half a block from where they had been targeted. They could wait there for a while and then head back.

"Pepper spray," Malik replied. "Always a handy thing to have." He shoved his hands into his pockets, kicking the ground. "I'm sorry."

Ryou shook his head. "For what? You saved me from that guy."

"You wouldn't have been hurt if I hadn't worn this." Malik glared down at his uniform.

Ryou's eyes widened. "Malik, no, don't think that. We probably would have been attacked anyway; Ushio's always after us and Yugi!"

"But he targeted us today because of me wearing this!" Malik pulled at the pink jacket.

Ryou took his hands. "Mal. Mal, no. It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

"No it's not," Ryou insisted.

Malik sighed, shaking his head. He looked away. "If you're going to get hurt because of it, then I'm not wearing this uniform anymore."

Ryou's eyes widened. "What?"

"You mean more to me than a piece of fabric. We've been friends since middle school."

"That doesn't mean you have to go through every day in clothes you don't want to wear for me!"

Malik shook his head and repeated, "I'm not doing it. Not if you're going to get hurt."

* * *

_"Mr. Kaiba?"_

"Speaking," Seto muttered, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could type with both hands.

_"CEO of Kaiba Corporations?"_

Seto smirked. On paper, he wasn't the CEO. He couldn't be at only sixteen. No. On paper, some dimwit being paid a few thousand a month called Greg Whyte was the CEO.

But everyone knew that he was the CEO. The banks, the press, his colleagues, the public, everyone.

And no one confronted him about it.

"As I said; speaking. Who is this?"

_"Wolfgang Ackermann; head of the German branch. There's been a problem with your latest Duel Monsters project."_

Seto didn't stop typing. "What's happened?"

_"We still can't figure out how to make the illusions tangible Mr. Kaiba. And our employees don't want to test it in case they get hurt."_

"They won't get hurt. The monsters will be tangible. Not the attacks."

_"We haven't figured out a way to do that yet, Mr. Kaiba."_

Seto sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Didn't I send Kisara Fukui over to you?"

_"Yes sir."_

"Put her on the phone."

He heard a slight shuffle before he heard Kisara's voice.  _"Hello, Mr. Kaiba."_

"Kisara, what's going on over there?" Seto leaned back in his chair.

Kisara hesitated.  _"We may need you to fly over. Even I'm struggling a bit with how to explain to everyone how to do this."_

"You  _may_  need me to come over?"

_"Slight understatement. We definitely need you."_

Seto sighed. "I'll be there tomorrow." He hung up without saying goodbye. Just as he began to look at tickets, Joey came into the room.

He along with Mokuba were the only two allowed to enter his office without knocking. "Hey puppy," he greeted, distracted.

Joey picked up on it. "What's wrong?"

Seto sighed, shaking his head. "The project in the German branch hasn't been going well so I need to go and check it out."

Joey's eyes widened. "You're going to Germany? For how long?"

Seto looked up at him. "I'm not sure." He looked at his laptop again. "I'm going to book two tickets for the next flight."

Joey watched him for a moment. "I'll go tell Mokuba to get ready," he mumbled.

Seto frowned and stood up. "What do you mean?"

"You're bringing him with you, right?" Joey tilted his head.

Seto just chuckled, shaking his head. "Mokuba already misses enough school. He'll be okay here for a while; the servants always take good care of him."

Joey hesitated. "So who's the second ticket for?"

Seto wrapped his arms around Joey's waist, chuckling. "You really are dense at times." Joey scowled at him. "It's for you, puppy."

Joey's scowl evaporated, leaving him wide-eyed again. "Really?"

"Of course." Seto nodded. "If you want to come, that is."

Joey grinned and kissed him quickly. "I'll go pack."

* * *

"Did you get a lot of homework?" Bakura asked as Ryou came through the door of their motel room.

Ryou tilted his head. "No. Just maths and English. Why?" Bakura grinned and held up a DVD. Ryou's eyes widened. "Is that  _The Boy_?"

"Yup." Bakura smirked. "I was thinking we could watch it once we're done with homework? I only have Japanese to do."

Ryou smiled and nodded. "That sounds good." He hesitated. "But if something's up with Yugi then I might need to drop it and go…"

Bakura frowned. "How come?"

"He's my friend." Ryou dropped his bag by the bed. "He's been there a lot for me, especially recently with my mother. And I need to be there for him."

Bakura rolled his eyes. "It's ridiculous that he's the one staying home from school after everything that's happened to us over the past two months," he muttered. "Nothing happened to him."

Ryou frowned at him. "Bakura, be nice. Yugi's been through a lot more than you realise."

"Such as?" He raised an eyebrow.

Ryou sighed and shook his head. "It's not my story to tell." He took his books out of his bag. "Let's get this done so we can watch the movie."

* * *

It was late. Too late for the beach.

Not that Tristan seemed to care.

Duke rolled his eyes, grinning. "Only you would come to the beach at nine in the middle of spring." It was still cold in the evenings and the cool sea breeze was blowing over them.

Tristan smiled, wrapping an arm around him. "You're here."

"Yes; because of you."

Tristan pulled him down onto the sand and they wrestled for a moment before Tristan managed to pin Duke down. "That wasn't very nice."

Duke spat some sand out of his mouth. "Neither was pulling me into the sand." He pouted. "It'll take me ages to get the sand out of my hair."

"Then don't use as much hair gel next time!" Tristan laughed, leaning down and kissing him. Duke returned the kiss, but Tristan pulled away a moment later and dropped a handful of sand over Duke before jumping up again.

"Hey!" Duke leapt up, brushing the sand off his shirt. He looked up to see Tristan running down the beach and he chased after him. "Tristan, you get back here!"

"You have to catch me!" Tristan laughed. Duke scowled and pushed himself harder. After a few minutes, he was close enough to lunge and tackle Tristan to the ground. Tristan frowned. "That wasn't very nice."

Duke just laughed. "Neither am I." He ran his fingers through Tristan's hair, getting rid of the sand in it.

"Thanks." Tristan sat up again and watched Duke for a moment. "Hey, Duke?"

Duke raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" Tristan pulled a blue box out of his pocket. Duke's eyes widened. "Tristan, don't do this to me."

"What?" Tristan frowned.

Duke put a hand on Tristan's arm. "Please,  _please_ , don't propose. We're only in high school!"

"Duke."

"And what if something happens and we end up hating each other or-or there's a zombie apocalypse and one of us gets bitten?"

"Duke."

"Or-"

"Duke!" Duke stopped. Tristan chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm not proposing." He opened the box. Inside were two silver rings; simple bands with their names carved into them. "They're promise rings."

"That's practically proposing," Duke mumbled.

"Not that kind." Tristan shook his head and took out one of the rings, taking Duke's hand. "It's to symbolise that no matter what happens – even if we end up breaking up horribly and going after the same person or something – that we'll stay friends. Because I don't love you because of your looks."

Duke snorted. "Thanks."

Tristan grinned. "You know what I mean. Yes, you're hot. But I love you because I love your personality and your smile and your eyes and your laugh and just everything about you. And I don't want to lose you if we break up. I want to stay friends with you." He raised an eyebrow. "So what do you say? Do you accept the ring?"

Duke smiled and nodded. "Yeah." Tristan slid it onto his finger and put on his own one. "Just to be clear; anything includes trashing your pool table, right?"

"No." Tristan deadpanned. "Anything but the pool table."

"But-"

"Anything but the pool table."

* * *

Malik shifted uncomfortably in the polo t-shirt and jeans he was wearing. He glanced around the restaurant.

It felt as though everyone was staring at him.

Judging him. Just like at the café, but worse.

A  _lot_  worse.

"Malik-pretty?"

Malik looked up and smiled when he saw Marik. "Hey, Mar." He rubbed the palms of his hands together.

He could see confusion etched on Marik's face as he sat down across from Malik. "You're wearing boys' clothes."

Malik looked down. "Yeah…"

"What happened?"

"What makes you think that-?" Malik's words died in his throat as he met Marik's gaze. He looked away. "Ryou got hurt."

"So?" Marik raised an eyebrow.

Malik gave him an incredulous look. "He's my friend, Mar. He got hurt because I was wearing the girls' uniform!" He looked down, fiddling with the tablecloth. "I don't want any of my friends getting hurt because of me."

Marik watched him. "Malik-pretty, Ryou's your friend, right?"

Malik raised his gaze and gave him a 'no shit' look.

"Wouldn't your friend want you to be comfortable in the clothes you wear?"

Malik looked away again. "He would. He  _does_. He said he does. I just don't want him getting hurt again."

"He won't," Marik said.

Malik laughed humourlessly. "He was attacked when we were walking back to the motel. It's not like a teacher can stop it; not like they would anyway."  _'Bullying will not be tolerated' my ass._  It was the biggest lie told in schools.

"Bakura can walk home with him," Marik pointed out. "He only didn't today because Ryou had advanced English classes after school and told him to go back because he could walk home with you because you were taking music lessons."

Malik shrugged. "So? That means every Monday, Wednesday and Friday Ryou would be walking home with me."

"Bakura and I can stay and mess around or get some work done in the yard while you two are in class," Marik said. "We'll wait for you. Those guys would have to go through us to get to you. And neither of us takes bullying well."

Malik shook his head. "N-n-no, that-that wouldn't be fair on-on-on you." He took a deep breath. He always started stuttering when he began panicking, and a restaurant on a date was not the place to do that.

Marik reached over the table and took Malik's hand. "Mal, you need to think about what's fair to  _you_  as well. We'll be fine. Bakura and I can kick the crap out of those guys any day. He may be scrawny but you don't want to get on his bad side, and I've seen them in gym. They fled like spiders when we went up against them in dodge-ball."

Malik couldn't help but giggle. "Really?"

Marik grinned and nodded, squeezing Malik's hand. "So don't force yourself to wear clothes you don't want to wear. Okay?"

Malik hesitated. "You're sure no one'll get hurt because of me?"

"I'm sure." Marik smiled.

Malik returned the smile after a moment. "Tomorrow I may or may not be wearing pink. Just don't let it draw your eye too much in class."

Marik gasped dramatically. "Malik. You mistake me for some sort of scoundrel."

"Mhm." Malik raised a knowing eyebrow. "Don't think I didn't see you earlier."

Marik coughed, grateful that his tan hi the blush creeping up his neck. "So, are you ready to order?"

* * *

Yami stared at Yugi's door for a minute. It didn't hint that anything was off. It was closed, yes. But the name plate on it – light blue and covered with stars with 'Yugi's Room' painted in sloppy, yellow finger-prints – from when Yugi was seven just gave off an 'everything's alright' vibe.

Still. Yami sighed and knocked on the door. "Yugi? It's me." No reply. "Is everything okay?" No reply. "Are you feeling any better?" No reply.

He frowned. He could be asleep. He tested the doorknob but it was still locked.

Where had Solomon left the spare key? The cupboard with the water heater in it? Probably.

Yami made his way down to the kitchen and opened the cupboard. As he had predicted, spare keys for every room lined the door. The game shop, the kitchen, the games room, the guest – or rather, Yami's – room, Solomon's room and Yugi's room.

Yami plucked the key for Yugi's room off the hook and ran back upstairs. He knocked once more, just in case.

No reply.

He sighed. "Sorry, Yugi," he mumbled as he slid the key into the lock. "I know you don't want to talk to me, but…" He shook his head and unlocked the door.

No one was there. Yami frowned.

That wasn't possible. He checked the en suite bathroom. No one. He checked the window. Locked, and it couldn't be locked from the outside.

Yugi's bed was unmade and a few of his things like the lamp on his bedside table had been knocked over. Yami frowned and checked the desk. There was a note.

He sighed in relief. Maybe Yugi had gone out before he got back to get some panadol – he knew they were running low.

He unfolded it and his blood ran cold.

_I have him. Call 0120-324929. Call the police and I think you know what will happen._

Yami took a deep breath and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Who had him? Ushio maybe? Keith? Ryou had warned him that something might happen with Keith because of Saturday night – something about Yugi not paying for everything.

Yami punched in the number, his fingers steady. He could get Yugi back. He knew he could.

It didn't even dial a full time before whoever owned the phone picked up. There was a moment of silence before he heard a chuckle.  _"Hello, nephew."_

Yami's breath caught in his throat. He was shaking now. "Aknadin…"

Suddenly, he wasn't so sure that he could save Yugi on his own.


	15. Chapter 15

**CW: Torture, indication of setting someone on fire, carving/initiation (Marik), flashback, panic attack**

* * *

Yugi groaned as he cracked open his eyes. _Too bright…_

He closed them again. Then he frowned and opened them. Wait. No it wasn't. It was pitch black.

He tried to stand up. Even during a new moon, it was never this dark in his room. There were always streetlights or helicopter lights or  _something_.

His breath caught in his throat. He tried to stand again. Something was stopping him.

He twisted his head to try and see what it was before remembering that he  _couldn't_  see.

He wiggled his hands around and winced when he felt a rough substance rub the sensitive skin on his wrists.

Wait… Why was his skin sensitive all of a sudden? He tried to swivel but his chest was stuck to the back of the wooden chair he was sitting on.

Wooden chair? Why wasn't he in his bed?

His breath started to quicken. He tried to move his legs. They wouldn't budge an inch. They were stuck to the legs of the chair.

He heard a crash and light shone down on him. He winced and his eyes shot closed. Now it really was too bright.

"Welcome to the land of the living," a voice chuckled.

Yugi blinked a few times, squinting. He could hear footsteps. Slowly, his eyes adjusted and he looked around. A… cave?

It was too rough to be a basement. The walls were too rocky and damp, the floor wasn't smooth enough and there were patches of moss everywhere.

But there was a door.

He looked up at the person that had entered as they grew closer. "Who…?"

He trailed off as he met a dual-coloured gaze. His eyes widened. He tried to scramble back, but the chair prevented him from doing so.

Aknadin chuckled. "You have no idea how refreshing your fear is. I haven't had a taste of fear in months." His smirk became a glare. "Not since you  _liberated_  my nephews."

Yugi swallowed the lump in his throat. He tried to glare. He wasn't sure if he succeeded or not – Aknadin's expression didn't change. "Good."

"Oh. Feisty." Aknadin snorted. "Sort of." He crouched down in front of Yugi. "Why do you think you're here, boy?"

Yugi continued to glare at him. "So you can try to get Yami, Bakura and Marik back," he said, proud that his voice wasn't shaking. "They won't fall for it."

Aknadin smirked. "You seem to think that this is a ruse. That I won't kill you if they don't come."

This time, Yugi smirked. "You won't hurt me. You need me."

Aknadin raised an eyebrow, leaning back a bit. "Do I?"

"Of course." Yugi began to relax. "You need me because you know that if you don't have me as a bargaining chip, Yami won't come and Ryou and Malik won't convince Marik and Bakura to help if they don't want to."

Aknadin chuckled and stood up. "What a smart kid." He reached over and threaded his fingers through Yugi's hair. "Your hair is so like Yami's.  _You_  are so like Yami, actually."

Yugi frowned. "What are you-?"

Aknadin's fingers suddenly tightened, latching onto a fistful of Yugi's hair. He yanked Yugi's head back. Yugi gritted his teeth to hold back a yelp. " _Don't_  talk back to me, boy. Didn't Yami ever tell you what happens when people talk back to me?"

"Obviously not," Yugi muttered.

Aknadin's smirk grew. "Well you grew a backbone. What? The withdrawal making you bitchy?"

Yugi flinched. How did he-?

"Looks like I hit a soft spot," Aknadin snickered. "What're you craving? Weed?" Flinch. "Cocaine?" Flinch. "Heroin?" Flinch. "Ecstasy?" Flinch. "Everything?"

Yugi diverted his gaze. It sounded so much worse when Aknadin named them all out.

Aknadin whistled. "That's got to cost you." He leaned down next to Yugi's ear. "Tell you what. If you're a good boy and do exactly what I say, I'll make sure that you get a month's worth of all of that."

Yugi snorted. "No one has that much money in their wallet after kidnapping someone and dragging them to a cave."

"I like to come prepared." Aknadin tilted his head. "Do we have a deal?"

Yugi glared at spat at him. The spit landed just above his fake eye.

Aknadin snarled and wiped his face. He pulled something out of his pocket. "You're going to regret that, boy."

"I doubt it," Yugi hissed.

He heard a soft click and Aknadin held up a lighter. Yugi's eyes widened. Fear and fire danced in them and he tried to lean away.

"You don't like fire, do you?" Aknadin grabbed a fistful of Yugi's hair again. "So  _soft_ ," he purred. "I wonder how flammable the conditioner you use makes it."

Yugi couldn't hold back a whimper.

Aknadin's eyes lit up. "Let's see, shall we?" He brought the lighter closer to Yugi's hair. "I'm betting on three minutes before that gravity defying kaleidoscopic mass is gone and the fire reaches your head."

Yugi squeezed his eyes shut. Instead of a loud whoosh and a burst of heat, all he heard was a general Nokia dial tone.

Aknadin let the fire go out on the lighter and he pulled a phone out of his pocket. Yugi cracked open his eyes.

Aknadin smirked at him. "Looks like you got lucky," he hissed. "Your boyfriend is smart."

 _No._  Yugi's eyes widened as Aknadin answered the phone.

"Hello, nephew."

* * *

_"So nice to hear from you again. How's school going?"_

Yami ground his teeth together. "I'm not going to play your games, uncle. Where's aibou?"

_"Aibou? You call him aibou? Oh, how sweet. Wouldn't you agree, Yugi?"_

Yami's eyes widened. "He's with you?"

 _"Why of course,"_ Aknadin hummed.  _"You didn't think I'd leave him alone before you called, did you? I know you need proof that he's here."_

Yami swallowed. "Put him on to me."

_"Now, Yami-"_

"Put him on the phone or I swear to every god up there that when I find you, I'll kill you without a second though!" Yami yelled.

He heard Aknadin chuckle.  _"Keep your temper, Yami. Angry and broody suits Bakura better."_

"Just put him on the phone," he hissed.

There was silence for a moment.  _"Yami?"_

Yami's heart leapt. "Yugi? Yugi, are you okay?"

_"I'm fine Yami; he hasn't hurt me. Whatever you do don't-"_

_"That's enough."_

_"Don't come down here!"_

_"Give me the phone, Yugi."_

_"I'll never forgive you!"_

Yami heard a loud crash. "Yugi!"

_"Oh don't worry about your aibou. He's fine. Just a bit… down at the moment."_

Yami clenched his fist. "What did you do?"

 _"Nothing too extreme."_  He could practically hear the smirk in Aknadin's voice.  _"But I know you won't believe me."_

"Damn straight I don't," Yami hissed. "Give him back."

_"You know I can't do that."_

"And why not?"

 _"Why not?"_ Aknadin sneered.  _"Let's see. Ah, yes. Because you landed my younger brother in a cell."_

"He deserved what he got," Yami said coolly. "And you will too."

Aknadin just chuckled.  _"You might want to come down here, nephew,"_ he said.

"I don't know where you are."

 _"Yes you do,"_ Aknadin said.  _"Or rather, Marik does. He just doesn't want to remember."_

Yami closed his eyes. "You didn't."

_"Oh, I did."_

"What do you want?" Yami ground out.

 _"I want you and your brothers,"_ Aknadin replied.  _"Here. Within four hours."_

Yami swallowed. "Bakura's out of town," he lied. Maybe he could buy them more time. "School trip. We need more time."

 _"Too bad. You don't have it. Or rather…"_ Again, the smirk was in his voice.  _"Your aibou doesn't."_ He chuckled.  _"I'll see you at eight, nephew. Just in time for dinner."_

The dial tone sounded in Yami's ear. "Fuck!" He hurled the phone against the wall. He heard it crack but he didn't pick it up as it fell to the floor.

It was all his fault. Yugi was going to die. Atem and Heba already did.

He was going to have another death on his head. It was all his fault. All his fault.

His phone rang. He watched it for a moment before picking it up. The screen was cracked in a few places, but the phone still worked.

Yami tapped the answer button, careful not to cut himself on the glass. "Hello?"

 _"Yami? It's Malik. Is Yugi okay?"_ Yami swallowed.  _"Hello? Yami?"_

"No, Malik," Yami whispered. "He's not. I'll be over in ten minutes."

* * *

Both Bakura and Ryou jumped as the screen froze. Bakura looked up and glared at Yami when he saw his brother standing in the door of their motel room. "We were watching that."

Yami threw the remote at him. "Yugi's in trouble."

Ryou sat up, his gaze concerned. "What kind?"

"The bad kind." Yami jerked his head. "Come on. We'll go into Marik and Malik's room."

"Why can't they come in here?" Bakura snorted.

Yami glared at him but before he could open his mouth, Ryou frowned at his boyfriend. "Bakura, I don't care if you think Yugi's getting it easier than us or not. He needs our help, so we're going to help him."

Bakura held his gaze for a moment before sitting up with a sigh. "Fine. Lead the way, Yams."

Yami rolled his eyes and walked down the hall to Marik's room, the two white-haired boys following him after Ryou grabbed their room key.

Yami knocked on the door. Room thirteen. Of course Marik would get thirteen.

It was Malik who opened the door. Malik wearing a black sequined skirt, a red t-shirt and black pumps. "Hey, Yami. You like?"

"Yeah, it looks good," Yami said dismissively. "Can we come in?"

Malik pouted slightly but opened the door enough for the three to come inside. "What's up?" He asked, closing the door.

"Where's Marik?" Yami asked. "He should be here for this as well."

"In the shower," Malik replied. "He'll be out in a-" The bathroom door opened and Marik walked out wearing jeans and a towel around his neck. He held his t-shirt in his hand. "Now."

Marik gave them an odd look. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Yugi's in trouble," Yami said as Malik sat on the edge of the bed. He leaned against the windowsill, his fingers tapping incessantly on the wood. "Big trouble."

"What kind?" Ryou asked, sitting cross-legged beside Malik. Marik and Bakura opted for standing.

Yami closed his eyes and let out a slow breath through his nose. "Aknadin's back."

Bakura's face visibly paled. Marik tensed up. Ryou and Malik looked a bit confused. "Aknadin?" Ryou mumbled. "Your…"

"Uncle," Bakura mumbled. "He's a murderer."

"You have no proof that he was the one that slaughtered your village, Bakura," Marik said.

Bakura glared at him. "He fucking killed my mother in front of me! He and his ten friends annihilated it!"

"What?" Ryou's eyes widened.

"When Bakura was younger, he lived in Kul Elna," Yami explained. "Under the guise of Muslim extremists, a group of ten people killed his entire village. He got away. Nine of them were caught and they confessed. The tenth is still out there and Bakura thinks-"

"Knows," Bakura corrected.

"-that it's Aknadin."

Ryou reached out as though to take Bakura's hand, but thought better of it. Bakura wouldn't appreciate it. Not in front of people anyway.

Bakura folded his arms. "If he has Yugi, we've got no chance of getting him back."

"Not true," Malik protested. "Yami didn't think we had a chance of getting you guys out!"

"Yes, and two people were shot because of it!" Bakura snapped.

"Hey, I healed up okay," Ryou said softly. There was a scar left, but no lasting damage had been done. He didn't even need a bandage anymore.

"He's given us four hours to hand ourselves in," Yami said softly when silence filled the room.

All four stared at him. "You're joking." Marik's whisper was strained. "You think we're going to go back there?"

"We don't have a choice!" Yami growled. "We can't let Yugi die like we did Atem and Heba!"

"That wasn't our fault!" Bakura yelled.

"Yes it was!" Yami shot back. "You blame yourself for your brother's death even though it wasn't your fault, but you've completely disassociated from something we all need to take responsibility for!"

Bakura growled and looked away. "Even so, if we go, he'll die. If we don't, he'll die," he muttered.

Ryou shook his head. "Maybe not," he mumbled.

"You have a plan?" Malik guessed, looking over at him.

Ryou nodded. "He'll only be expecting Marik, Bakura and Yami. He knows we don't want Yugi to die. Yami, do you have any idea where he could have taken him?"

Yami shook his head. "Anywhere within four hour's travel from here. His voice was echoing though."

Marik's eyes widened before slipping closed. "I know where he is," he mumbled. "The tombs at the edge of Domino, about forty minutes drive from here."

Malik looked up at him. "Mar-"

"Don't." Marik cut him off. Malik fell silent.

"What if Malik and I sneak around the back?" Ryou suggested.

"It's full of traps," Marik warned.

"I've lived around traps my whole life," Malik said. "I can get us through them." Marik threw him a sharp look but was ignored. "We'll be fine sneaking around the back."

Yami nodded. "Knowing him, he'll have Yugi close to the back anyway so that we won't try to run into the tombs, grab him and run back out again."

"So when do we go?" Bakura's voice sounded hollow.

Yami sighed. "Grab things you need and text Joey, Seto-"

"Can't," Ryou cut him off. "Seto and Joey are going to Germany in the morning. Joey left a voicemail asking me to tell Yugi when he couldn't reach him."

Yami nodded. "Then text Duke and Tristan in case something goes wrong."

"What about Anzu, Mokuba or Serenity?" Malik asked.

Yami shook his head. "Mokuba and Serenity are too young. Anzu's getting ready to go to America next week. Anyone we drag into this will need to be in Japan for a month at least." He walked towards the door. "Get food, water, spare clothes and any knives or weapons or  _anything_  you have that's dangerous. We don't know what will happen." Bakura caught Yami's shoulder. Yami met his gaze and nodded in response to his silent question. "This time, we're bringing him down. For good."

* * *

Yugi resisted the urge to scoot back when he saw the door open again. He knew that it wouldn't do him any good.

He squinted as a light was turned on. How was there electricity down here?

Then he froze, seeing the source of the light. A flaming torch. Aknadin smirked and attached the torch to the wall. "My, you really hate fire, don't you?"

Yugi looked away. It was none of his business.

"I wonder why."

"None of your business," he gritted out.

Aknadin's smirk grew. "Now that's no way to talk to someone holding fire, is it?" Yugi turned to glare at him but stayed silent. "Was it something… to do with an old house?"

Yugi flinched.

Aknadin chuckled. "I see. Maybe a pet?"

Yugi looked away. Sure, he missed his cat Kuriboh, and Ryou's bunny Lily's recent death was still a sore spot, but neither of them had died in a fire.

"A brother?"

"I'm an only child," Yugi mumbled.

"Grandparent then?"

"Is there a point to this?" Yugi snapped.

Aknadin guffawed. "I'm liking this you more and more every second. You're a real bitch, you know that?"

Yugi shrugged and looked down again.

"What about a cousin?"

"I don't have any."

"But you did. Atem and Heba, right?"

Yugi swallowed. "How did you-?"

"But they didn't die in a fire, did they? They were found dead in an abandoned house, half-rotted."

Yugi flinched, squeezing his eyes shut. "Shut up," he hissed. "I know what you're trying to do."

"Oh?" Aknadin raised an eyebrow. "Pray tell, what  _am_  I trying to do?"

"Set me against Yami," Yugi mumbled. "I know his father killed them. I know they died trying to help them escape. I knew that over a month ago."

Aknadin frowned, tilting his head. "And that didn't anger you?"

"Of course it did," Yugi snapped. "But it wasn't their fault. And your brother's paying for what he did to them."

Aknadin scowled and picked something up from the corner of the room. "Tell me why you're afraid of fire."

"Piss off."

"Was it your mother?"

Yugi flinched. A gunshot sounded in his head.

"Hm. Close." Aknadin narrowed his eyes. "Your father then?"

Yugi's eyes shot closed and he bit his lip harshly to hold back a whimper.

"Bingo." Aknadin walked closer to him. Yugi could hear a squelch as he opened something. Liquid then. "What did he do?" Yugi turned his head to the side. "Was it similar to this?"

The smell of gasoline reached Yugi's nose moments before it was poured over him. He let out a panicked wail, struggling to escape from his bonds.

Aknadin laughed and continued pouring it over him until there was none left.

He walked back to the door, leaving Yugi shivering and dry-sobbing. He picked up the torch and moved back to him. "Was it, Yugi?"

Yugi looked up at him, his eyes wide in fear. He shook his head, doubling his efforts to escape. Aknadin held the torch over Yugi's hair.

The fire sparked but the flint didn't hit Yugi.

"Stop!" Yugi screamed, squeezing his eyes shut. "Don't! Please!"

Aknadin paused. Yugi cracked open an eye again to see him pull the torch back. "Better," he purred. "Much better." He turned away and walked towards the door, taking the torch with him. "They've got an hour to get here," he called over his shoulder. "If they're not here by then, I'm watching you go up in flames."

* * *

"Malik-pretty, you need to slow down."

"I can't!" Malik snapped. "We need to be there soon!"

"No, Malik, seriously."

"Fuck speeding laws!"

"No; seriously. Yami and Bakura lost us."

Malik groaned and pulled his motorbike into a nearby roadside diner. "Again? That's the second time?"

Marik glanced at his phone. "They lost us about twenty minutes back."

Malik huffed, crossing his arms. "They should drive faster."

"Bakura's not a great driver and a car can't go as fast as your bike." Malik clicked his tongue and looked away. Marik pulled off his helmet. "Come on; we'll head inside and get a drink. Nothing else to do."

"But-" Malik cut himself off and nodded, taking off his own helmet. "Fine." He wheeled his motorbike over to an area easily seen from the diner and stowed the helmets in the compartment under the seat before following Marik into the diner.

As they sat down in a booth that they could see Malik's motorbike from, a girl with dirty-blonde hair and brown eyes came up to them. Her name-tag read 'Alexis'. "What would you like to order?"

Malik didn't even look at the menu. "Just some water."

Marik frowned. "Malik, get something to eat. You don't know when we'll be able to again." Alexis paid no mind to the statement. It sounded as though they were just going on a long road trip.

"I'm not hungry."

Marik sighed. "I'll take a hot chocolate with cinnamon on it, and two pieces of apple tart. He'll have one."

Alexis nodded, writing down their order. "'Kay, I'll be right back with that."

Malik frowned at Marik as Alexis walked away. "I'm not going to eat it."

"Yes you are," Marik insisted. "You'll need it where we're going." He looked outside.

The landscape had turned sandy now. In the winter, he knew it looked mystical. Now, it looked like a wasteland. And only half an hour's drive from a city.

Malik watched him. "What happened there?" He murmured. "In the tombs?"

Marik gritted his teeth and shook his head.

Malik reached across the table and took his hand. "Mar, please. I want to help."

"You can't," he mumbled. "They're old scars." Literally.

Malik squeezed his hand. "I had plenty of them and you helped me," he mumbled. "Now let me help you."

Marik met his gaze. Then he looked down at the temple. "Your scars," he mumbled. "I've got the same ones. Well, a variation of them anyway. I don't know how he heard of it, but my dad became a Calliark when I was four. He forced me to move into the tombs." He snorted. "More like kidnapped me and locked me away there actually." He trailed off.

Malik gave him a reassuring smile. "You're doing great."

Marik closed his eyes. "He forced me to do the ritual when I was seven. Or tried to anyway. I got loose and killed him before he finished." A cold smirk crossed his face. "Guess your sister's right. I am dangerous."

"No you're not," Malik mumbled. "And what does she know anyway?"

Marik chuckled before growing serious. "She still hasn't called?"

Malik shook his head. "She didn't return my texts either," he mumbled. "Odion did, but…" He sighed. "What else happened?"

Marik sensed not to broach the topic. Malik could visit them if he wanted. He chose not to. "I tried to get out. My dad had the food and water locked away so rats couldn't get at it, but that meant I couldn't either. It took me a few days to get out and I had barely been walking ten minutes before I collapsed." Marik clenched his fists. "Then Aknamkanon found me."

When he fell silent, Malik leaned across the table and kissed him softly. "Thank you," he mumbled.

"Here's your tart."

Malik fell back in his seat, his eyes wide. Alexis and Marik both grinned at his reaction. "Thanks," Marik said as Alexis placed the tarts, water and hot chocolate on the table. He glanced at his drink to make sure that it had cinnamon in it before nodding.

Malik eyed the tart reluctantly as Alexis left. "Eat," Marik said. "We mightn't be eating again for a while. And the others will catch up to us soon."

* * *

"Aknadin!" Yami called as he and his brothers descended into the tomb. "We're here. Come out!"

There was a moment of tense silence.

The three exchanged a look. He couldn't have caught Malik and Ryou sneaking around the back, could he? Not yet anyway.

Then they heard a deep chuckle. "Boys. So good to see you again."

Yami squinted into the darkness, trying to see him. "Where's Yugi?"

"That's none of your concern at the moment." Aknadin stepped forward, smirking.

Yami stood his ground. "We're not going anywhere until you show us Yugi."

Aknadin's smirk grew. "Oh I can't do that just yet," he said. "If I turn my back on you, who knows what you could do." He held each of their gaze for a minute. "Strip."

Bakura snarled. "I knew you were perverted but this is ridiculous."

"How else am I supposed to be able to tell if you have any weapons?" Aknadin shrugged. "You can leave your boxers on if it makes you feel any better. They can't hide much."

The three exchanged another look. Marik was the first to react, unclasping the chain on his cape. Bakura and Yami reluctantly followed his example until soon, Aknadin could see that none of them bore any weapons. "Good. Now get dressed again."

They obliged. Aknadin walked up to each of them and began to pat them down, just in case they had added hidden pockets.

He smirked when he reached Marik's cape. "Take it off, nephew."

Marik growled but obliged.

Aknadin turned it inside out and slowly took each of the seven knives out of the pockets. "Tut tut," he sighed, throwing the empty cape back at him. "I thought you would know better."

He raised a knife, trailing the blade along Marik's cheek. Marik didn't flinch. Aknadin flicked the tip of the blade against his skin. Blood trickled down it but Marik held his ground.

Aknadin smirked and moved on to Bakura and Yami. Neither of them had anything; they had been counting on Marik's cape being thick enough to hide the knives.

Satisfied, Aknadin pocketed the confiscated knives and turned away. "Follow me." He began walking down the hallway.

Again, Marik was the first to follow him. Bakura and Yami trailed after their younger brother.

The traps were lethal, Marik knew. If they didn't keep Aknadin within their eyeshot, they could easily get caught in one and die. Horribly and painfully.

However, Aknadin didn't lead them very far in before he took a left turn.

Marik's blood began to chill. No. Not there. He couldn't have figured out which one it was.

They reached a cavern with two doors. Marik clenched his fists. Not that one. Not that one.

Aknadin walked to the right one and pushed it open. "Everyone inside."

Marik dug his nails into his palms. He could see the table from where he was standing. His scars itched.

Yami stepped forward. "Where's Yugi?" He growled.

"Get inside and you won't be clueless for much longer," Aknadin purred.

Yami glared at him before stalking inside. Bakura hesitated before following, leaving as much room between himself and Aknadin as possible.

Marik stayed where he was. He felt Aknadin's gaze lock onto him. "Is there a problem, Marik?" His tone was light. Taunting. He was taunting him.

Fucking bastard. _Maybe I should carve the scriptures into his back,_ he pondered.  _He wouldn't taunt me then._

"Marik?" Aknadin raised an eyebrow.

"No." Marik's response hung in the air. "There's no problem." He followed his siblings into the room.

But once he was inside, his breath caught in his throat.

His arm twitched and his fingers curled. He squeezed his eyes shut.

He turned to run but the door slammed shut in his face. They all heard the bolt slide into place. There was no escape.

* * *

"This way."

"Are you sure?" Ryou whispered. He didn't dare speak any louder.

"It's what Marik told me," Malik replied. He had no problem speaking normally. "There's a room around here with a heavy metal door. It was used to store food. That's where Yugi will be; it's the only room back here with a lock."

"But what if he's not?"

"Then we'll keep looking."

"Would you quit talking so loudly?"

Malik sighed but lowered his voice to a whisper. "There." His gaze scanned the floor and walls for traps. He was used to being in the dark, so this was no problem for him. They had already evaded multiple false tiles and trip wires.

Speaking of which.

"Hang on. Another wire." Malik carefully stepped over it, placing his feet lightly on the other side and testing the floor in case of more false tiles.

Then he turned and helped Ryou over the wire. Ryou was shaking. Badly.

"Hey." Malik wrapped his arms around him. "It'll be okay."

Ryou buried his head in the crook of Malik's neck. "I'm scared…"

Malik stroked his hair. "I know, Ry," he cooed. "But it'll be over soon."

Ryou sniffed before nodding and pulling away from Malik.

Malik gave him a reassuring smile – though he wasn't sure if Ryou could see it. "Let's keep going."

Ryou nodded, but grabbed Malik's hand for comfort. Malik squeezed his friend's hand before leading him further in. It wasn't too far now.

Marik said the room was three caverns in from the back entrance. They had passed two.

Moments later, he stopped. "We're here."

Ryou looked up. He could barely make out the door. "How do we open it?"

Malik scanned it. "There's a bolt. Help me pull it back." Ryou nodded and ran up to the door with Malik.

They couldn't call into the room to check first. Aknadin could be near.

Malik gripped the sides of the bolt tightly and pulled. Ryou pulled at Malik's arms, there being nowhere else on the bolt for him to grab onto.

After a minute, it slid out of place with a loud screech.

They both froze but no footsteps reached their ears.

Malik slowly opened the door. "Yugi?" He whispered.

He heard a soft whimper and the two ran into the room. Yugi was tied to a chair, his eyes squeezed shut.

He seemed to be soaked to the bone with water, but Malik could smell gasoline. Maybe that was it? But why pour it all over him without doing anything?

"Yugi, are you okay?" Ryou asked softly.

Yugi cracked open an eye. "R-Ryou? M-Mal?"

"Yeah, it's us," Malik murmured. "Come on. Let's get you out of here." He crouched down to untie Yugi's legs.

Ryou moved to untie Yugi's arms, but all three froze when they heard the door slam shut and the bolt slide into place again.

Someone chuckled on the other side of the door. Aknadin.

"None of you are getting out of here anytime soon."


	16. Chapter 16

**CW: Psychological torture, death threats, amputation (accidental), shooting, hospitals, discussing drugs**

* * *

The three were silent.

Marik was curled up in a corner with bleeding knuckles from hammering on the door and trying to break the table with his bare hands.

Bakura was walking around the room, kicking the wall in random places in the hopes of finding a hidden door.

Yami was just staring at the main door.

It had been twenty minutes. Aknadin wouldn't wait much longer; he was never a very patient person.

Sure enough, the door swung open after a few more minutes. They had to look away as light blinded them for a moment. Bakura was the first to be able to brave the sight of the fire.

His gaze found Aknadin. And then the shock of white hair clenched in Aknadin's hand. His heart sank as he followed the hair to Ryou's face. "Ryou..."

Aknadin smirked at him. "Follow me."

Bakura glared up at him. "Let him go."

"Alright." Aknadin pushed him forward. Ryou stumbled and they heard the scrape of a tile being pushed down.

Marik's eyes widened. "Move!" He boomed. Ryou fell back in time to avoid an axe falling on his head. He let out a cry of pain as Aknadin yanked him up by his hair again.

"I know every trap in these tombs," Aknadin chuckled. "Now, if you don't follow, I'll gladly lead Ryou outside. But who's to say he won't trip something on the way out?"

"Bastard," Bakura growled, his hands balling into fists.

Aknadin's smirk grew and he turned away, leading Ryou by his hair. "Let's go."

Bakura stayed where he was. But only until Aknadin tightened his hold on Ryou's hair and the small boy whimpered.

Then Bakura was pretty fast about following him out of the room. Once Bakura was out, Aknadin closed the door and bolted it shut again.

Bakura reached out to try and take Ryou's hand, but Aknadin yanked him away before he could, giving Bakura no choice but to follow.

None of them could focus on the inscribed walls; they had to use the torchlight to make sure they didn't trip any wires or land on false tiles.

Aknadin didn't seem to have much of a problem with it, but Ryou and Bakura had to pay close attention.

Before long, they reached a large metal door with a slot. Aknadin pulled it open and looked at Bakura. "Inside," he commanded. "Now."

Bakura took a glance at Ryou before obliging. Rather than following him in, Aknadin shut the door and opened the slot so Bakura could see out into the hall.

"Watch closely, Bakura." He attached the torch to the wall. "And learn from your mistakes."

He turned to Ryou and slammed him against the wall.

Ryou let out a cry of pain as a hand wrapped around his throat.

"You're the one that challenged my brother," Aknadin said, slowly tightening his grip, "aren't you?" He snorted as Ryou scratched at his hand. "Where's your card games now?"

Bakura hammered on the door. "Let him go!" He roared.

Aknadin just laughed and tightened his grip. "Your actions will determine his fate, nephew," he called over his shoulder. "You can let him die, or live. But either way, he is never leaving this tomb."

Ryou whimpered and aimed a kick at Aknadin's chest. Aknadin cursed and dropped him, staggering.

Ryou landed unsteadily and bolted for the door, trying to pull it open. But before he could, he felt his foot catch on something.

His eyes widened.

He could hear Bakura yelling.

He felt a tug on the back of his t-shirt as he was pulled backwards, but not before pain ricocheted through his arm.

"Stupid boy," Aknadin snarled as Ryou let out a wail of pain. "This is what happens when you don't pay attention!"

Ryou felt him pull something, and both pain and relief washed through his arm. He could see red everywhere, but he couldn't bring himself to look.

He could hear Bakura yelling curses and threats, and Aknadin muttering idiocies under his breath.

He heard the door swing open and he was shoved in with Bakura. He stumbled and hit the ground, and Bakura's arms were around him.

"It's okay," he heard him murmur. "It'll be fine. I've got you. You're going to be fine."

He heard shuffling and tearing, and a pressure on his arm.

He whimpered. "W-what happened?"

Bakura hesitated. "I... I can't... Take a look."

It was bright enough; they were close enough to the surface to have cracks for windows. Cracks big enough to produce enough light to illuminate the room enough to see silhouettes and faint colours.

But he didn't want to look. So he didn't.

* * *

Yugi looked up as the door opened. "Mal?" He whispered. "Ry?" Aknadin had taken them about half an hour previously.

"Afraid not." He shrank back when he heard Aknadin's voice. "But I have some of your friend's blood here, if that counts."

Yugi squeezed his eyes shut. What had he done?

It was all his fault.

"But I do have a friend here for you."

Yugi flinched as he heard a match strike and flames lit up the room. His eyes widened when he saw Yami, arms tied behind his back. "M-Mou Hitori..."

"Ai-" Yami began before his mouth was covered and a knife appeared at his throat.

He and Yugi tensed. "Now Yugi," Aknadin said, leading Yami in front of Yugi and forcing him to sit down, "I believe you have quite the story to tell Yami. Don't you?"

Yugi's eyes widened even more. "Wh-what are you talking ab-bout?"

Aknadin smiled. "Oh, you know. Your father."

Yugi flinched and looked away.

"Yugi," Aknadin sang. Yugi flinched again when he heard a hiss of pain from Yami.

He looked back to see a thin line of blood bead up on Yami's neck, where Aknadin had pressed the blade a little too deep.

"Start talking, Yugi," Aknadin chuckled, "or we might  _die_  a little from boredom."

Yugi met Yami's gaze. Yami shook his head, but again, he hissed when Aknadin applied more pressure with his blade.

Yugi squeezed his eyes shut. If he didn't talk, his Mou Hitori would die.

But if he did, he would need to relive it.

As if he didn't already do that enough.

"Tick." Hiss. "Tock." Hiss. "Tick." Hiss. "Tock." Gasp.

Yugi's eyes flashed open to see more blood beading on Yami's neck. "Okay!"

Aknadin smiled and sat next to Yami, still holding the knife to his neck. "Excellent. I always love a good story. Make sure to do the voices, won't you?"

Yugi ignored the request. "When... When I was younger, I lived with my parents," he began, "but... but my mom was an alcoholic and my dad was abusive... towards both of us." Aknadin was smirking. It was burning his eyes. "On-e day, when I was-was thirteen, I ran away," Yugi stammered. "I stayed with-with grandpa for a few days an-and we went-t back to get my mom..."

"Yugi," Yami began but Aknadin dug the knife into his skin again.

"Shush," he chuckled. "We're getting to the good part."

Yugi sniffed. "G-grandpa waited in the car when I went in... D-dad was... drunk. Again. But he told me tha-at I could get my mom... When I did, she packed a bag. When we went out to the kit-tchen again, he-he was ho-holding a-a-a g-g-un an-and-" He sobbed. "-he-he sh-sh-ot h-er..."

"I wish I had some popcorn to go with this," Aknadin hummed as tears trickled down Yugi's cheeks. After a few moments of silence, Aknadin glared. "Keep going,  _aibou_."

Yugi whimpered. "H-he knocked me o-over the h-head with something an-and dragged me out to-to the garage," he whispered. His voice echoed back from the stone walls. "I-I wasn't un-unconscious, b-but it hu-hurt t-too much to mo-ove." He bit his lower lip harshly. He could taste the copper tang of blood. "H-he grabbed a... a can and be-began pouring something over me..."

He could remember it.

Hearing his laughter.

Feeling something wet pour over him.

Hearing his laughter.

Wondering how water could hurt him.

Hearing his laughter.

Wondering why the water smelt so bad.

 _Hearing his laughter_.

"Finish the story,  _aibou_ ," Aknadin commanded. "Yami here wants to know the ending."

Yugi met Yami's gaze. He could see pity, and concern in his eyes. And he hated it.

He hated that Yami felt this way.

He hated that it was his fault.

"I-It was gas," he whispered. "I saw him l-light a match, an-and he dropped it on me, and..." He sobbed again. "And he laughed... H-He-He wa-watched me b-burn and he  _laughed_."

* * *

Malik's head shot up as the door swung open and Marik was shoved in by Aknadin.

"What do you want?" Malik snarled, glaring at Aknadin.

"Ooh, feisty." Aknadin smirked. "I like that. You made a good choice with him, nephew."

"I'm not your nephew!" Marik snapped.

Aknadin ignored him. "Also a pleasant change from your friends. They're a bit too... obedient for my liking. At least, when you push the right buttons." He pulled something from his pocket and the two Egyptians tensed. "Now, Marik, you're going to beat your boyfriend here to a bloody pulp with this." He threw the whip to Marik, who fumbled but caught it.

Marik stared at the whip for a moment before looking up at him. "What?"

"You see, there's a reason my dear brother never did anything psychologically damaging to you," Aknadin said. "Or at least,  _as_ psychologically damaging as what he did to the other two."

"Get on with it!" Marik snarled.

"He seemed to believe that you were too psychotic for mental torture to effect," Aknadin said, pulling a gun from his pocket. "That physical torture would be more effective on you. But I think you're a lot more humane than you let on."

Marik glared, but didn't say anything to contradict his statement.

"So I'm going to make you do to him-" He nodded at Malik. "-what my brother did to you."

Marik shook his head. "What's the point?" He asked.

Aknadin raised an eyebrow. "The point?" He shrugged. "Because I feel like it."

Marik glared at him. "I'm not going to do it."

"Yes you are." Aknadin smirked and pointed the gun at Malik. "Or I'll kill both of you right here, right now, and you'll never leave this place."

Marik tensed.

Never leaving. Never leaving. Never leaving.

_"You're never leaving this place, Marik. Not so long as I'm here."_

Marik reached out and caught Malik's wrist, pulling his boyfriend behind him. "You can try," he hissed, "but we're getting out of here."

Aknadin snorted, "I'd like to see that." He levelled the gun at Marik's head.

Marik squeezed Malik's hand. Malik squeezed his back. His grip on the whip tightened as he prepared to lash it at Aknadin.

Suddenly, someone was hammering on the door.

Aknadin scowled. "What the-?"

_"Come out with your hands where we can see them!"_

Malik smirked. "And that would be the police."

* * *

"You're sure this is where they are?" The Police Commissioner asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"We're sure," Duke said through gritted teeth.

"But it's-"

"We know. Highly unethical." Duke glared at him. "Do you really think we'd go to all of this trouble to stage a prank?"

The Commissioner snorted. "You wouldn't be the first or the last."

"For the love of-"

"They're out."

Both Duke and the Commissioner looked over at the entrance. Tristan was right.

Ryou, Yugi, Malik, Bakura, Yami and Marik were all being led out by police officers, blankets wrapped around them.

Yugi was sobbing, Yami's arm wrapped around him.

One of Ryou's arms was behind his back and both Bakura and a police officer seemed to be trying to talk him into revealing it.

Neither Malik nor Marik seemed injured, but they both seemed shaken.

And Aknadin was being led out, hands cuffed behind his back. There were two officers on either side of him, as well as one in front and in the back.

"Is everything okay?" Duke asked one of the officers.

The officer nodded. "No trouble. He dropped his weapon and led us to everyone to get them out."

The Commissioner nodded. "And the kids?"

"They all seem fine." The officer glanced at them. "Only one is injured and it seems to be from a trap that he tripped rather than from the man."

Duke glared. "They wouldn't have been down there if it wasn't for him, so it was his fault," he hissed.

"How did you two even know they were there?" The Commissioner asked.

"Ryou called us when they were on their way," Tristan sighed, placing a hand on Duke's shoulder and gently squeezing it. "He told us to call the police if we didn't hear from them again in an hour and he told us where to go."

The officer frowned. "So they've been in there for over two hours?"

Duke shook his head. "We called you as soon as we got the call from him," he replied. "Now if you'll excuse us, we need to go and check on our friends."

He stormed over to the group, who were all standing with Ryou.

"It'll be okay, Ry," he heard Bakura say softly. "But we need to be able to see it so we know how we can help."

Ryou whimpered. "B-but..."

Bakura kissed his forehead. "Please, Ry..."

Ryou met his gaze for a moment before shakily taking his hand out from behind his back.

Even Duke nearly fainted, so he wasn't surprised when Ryou fell into Bakura after letting out a cry at the sight of the bloody stump where his hand used to be.

* * *

"All rise."

Everyone in the courtroom stood. Yami, Bakura, Marik and their lawyer Atticus Rhodes sat at the bench, with Yugi, Ryou and Malik in the stands behind them.

On the other side of the courtroom were Aknadin and his lawyer Slade Princeton.

"This court is now in session; the honourable judge Lyman Banner preceding." The court clerk placed a file on Banner's table. "This is the case of Aknadin Sennen."

The judge nodded and took the file.

The court clerk turned back. "You may be seated."

The judge turned to Aknadin as everyone sat down. "Aknadin Sennen, you are charged with child abuse, kidnapping, mutilation and mass murder. How do you plea?"

"Not guilty."

The judge nodded as though expecting that response.

Atticus stood up. "Your honour, if I may, I would like to call Yugi Mutou to the stand as a witness."

"Permission granted."

Yugi swallowed and shakily walked up to the stand.

"Please state your name for the court."

"Yugi Mutou."

"Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"I do."

Atticus walked up to him as he sat down. "Yugi, when did Yami approach you for help?"

Yugi hesitated. "A few days after he moved in," Yugi replied. "Boxing Day."

"And what did he tell you?"

Yugi hesitated again. "He... he told me that he, Bakura and Marik needed help. That they were locked in the attic and being tortured."

"And who was torturing them?"

"Their father and uncle," Yugi replied. "Their father was already arrested a few months ago."

"And when Aknadin kidnapped-"

"Objection, your honour." Slade stood up. "My client has pleaded innocent of the kidnapping charges."

"I'll rephrase," Atticus said smoothly. "When you were kidnapped, are you sure that it was Aknadin?" Yugi nodded. "How?"

"I saw him," Yugi replied. "And he said something about getting his nephews back."

Atticus nodded. "No further questions, your honour." He walked back to the bench.

"Mr. Princeton, would you like to cross-examine the witness?"

"Yes, your honour." Slade stood up and walked over to Yugi. "Mr. Mutou, did you physically see my client torturing your boyfriend?"

Yugi clenched his fists. "No, but-"

"So you have no real proof that he did anything to them?"

"I believe them more than I do him."

"Do you have a recording of him confessing to torturing them?" He argued. "And do you know that it was him that kidnapped you? Maybe it was just someone who sounded similar."

Yugi took a deep breath to him. "No, I don't have a recording," he said, "but I know it was him. I saw him."

"So we're taking the word of a fifteen year old child? Excellent." Slade turned away. "No further questions, your honour."

Banner nodded. "You may be seated, Mr. Mutou."

Yugi sighed in relief and stood up, walking back to his seat.

Yami smiled at him, and Atticus gave him a thumbs-up.

A loud bang rang through the room and Yugi fell to the floor, clutching his chest.

Screams and yells filled the air.

Yugi felt someone's arms around him, calling for someone to dial one one nine.

Blood dripped through Yugi's fingers onto the hardwood floor of the courtroom.

He managed to look at Aknadin. Slade had darted away and was on the phone.

Aknadin was smirking, holding the gun aimed at him. "Your honour," he called over the mayhem, "I would like to change my plea to guilty. Of all charges."

* * *

"Friends of Yugi Mutou?"

Everyone's head shot up and they ran over to the doctor. Ryou was the only one not present, having to get the stitches on his arm changed.

"How is he?"

"Is it bad?"

"Is he okay?"

"Is he  _alive_?"

"When can he leave?"

The doctor held up his hands to quieten them. When they fell silent, he smiled slightly. "Your friend is fine." Sighs of relief ran through the group. The doctor's face fell. "For now. Follow me."

The group followed him down the hall into a small, brightly lit office. The doctor picked up a file on his desk and took out the x-ray photo.

"The bullet punctured his left lung here," he explained, pointing to a large black spot, "and here." He pointed to another black dot. "It then went through to his right lung and punctured it here." He pointed to the last black dot. "His lungs were already bad from smoking. Now, if he doesn't get a lung transplant..."

"Will he be okay?" Malik asked after a moment of silence. "Like, he'll still live, right?"

"It all depends."

"On what?"

"Him." The doctor looked over at Yami. "And how much he wants to live. He can fight, or he can give up before the transplant. We've put him on the list, but he won't have it for a few months."

"So the shrimp has to stay in hospital for a few months?" Bakura asked. "Why not just let him out and let him enjoy life?"

The doctor sighed. "It's not that simple," he protested. "He's on a life monitor now, and he has to get oxygen from machines. He can't leave the hospital; he can't breathe properly. If he leaves, he'll die."

Everyone fell silent.

"Are any of us the same blood type?" Duke offered. "It's possible to live with one lung, right?"

"Yes," the doctor admitted. "And we may have to take blood samples from all of you. But even so, it might be a month or two before he can have the operation." The doctor put the image in his file again. "You can visit him now if you want. But only one at a time."

"You first, Yami," Marik said. "He'll want to see you."

Yami hesitated. "Are you sure?"

Despite the fact that they all probably wanted to see Yugi themselves, there wasn't a single person that didn't nod.

Yami turned back to the doctor, who smiled. "Right this way."

* * *

"Hey."

Yugi slowly opened his eyes. Every movement was a struggle, but he managed to prop himself up on his pillows when Yami walked in. "Hi..."

Yami walked over to the chair beside Yugi's bed and sat down.

For a few minutes, neither of them said anything.

"The judge made his decision," Yami finally coughed out. "Aknadin was put on death row. He waved his right to a long trial, so he should be executed in about three months."

"Oh..." Yugi looked down. "Does he... does he need to die?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "I mean, I know he did some terrible things, but... no one has the right to take another life. No one."

Yami took his hand and squeezed it. "I know, aibou," he murmured. "But if they don't, he'll eventually get out and do it all again."

Yugi slowly nodded. "Yeah..." His eyes burned. "I'm sorry..."

Yami blinked. "What for?"

"For everything," Yugi whispered. "For doing drugs again, for not accepting your apology... For everything..."

"Why did you do it?" Yami asked after a minute.

There was no point in accepting an apology when you didn't know the reason.

Yugi squeezed his eyes shut. "It made me feel numb," he said. "And I was hurting. A lot. Ra, Yami, you don't know what you did to me when you pushed me away..." He sniffed. "An-and there was the bullies and-"

"You were being bullied?" Yami asked, his eyes wide.

Yugi nodded. "Yeah..." He slowly raised a hand and rubbed his eyes. "I'm used to it, but... I don't know..."

Yami squeezed his hand again. "Everyone has breaking points, Yu'," he murmured. "You just found yours."

Yugi sniffed and lowered his hand. "I guess..."

Yami swallowed. "And I'm sorry for doing that to you," he mumbled. "Pushing you away."

Yugi met his gaze. "Why did you?" He asked.

"I... I don't know..." Yami shook his head. "I shouldn't have kissed you. Not then."

Yugi flinched. "Why not?"

Yami caught the flinch. "Not because of that," he quickly assured. "I like you. More than anyone I've ever met."

Yugi shook his head. "Then... why?"

Yami sighed. "We had just gotten out of the attic," he mumbled, "and I had just been..."

This time, Yugi squeezed Yami's hand as he trailed off.

Yami sniffed. "I guess I was just... scared." He laughed feebly. "Sounds pretty weak..."

"No it doesn't." Yugi slowly raise a hand and cupped Yami's cheek. "You were scared. Everyone's scared of things. And you had just been raped."

Yami flinched but nodded. "Yeah..."

Yugi smiled softly. "I'm sorry for making it worse by kissing back."

"Don't be." Yami shook his head. "It was amazing."

Yugi's face flushed and he looked away. "Shut up."

They heard someone knock on the door. "Hurry up, Pharaoh," Marik called in. "Malik's throwing a hissy fit; he wants to see Yugi."

"I am not!" Malik yelled.

Yami chuckled and stood up. "Your visitors await."

Yugi sighed. "This is going to be a long day, isn't it?"

"Probably," Yami agreed. He hesitated before leaning in and pecking Yugi's lips. "See you later, aibou."

Yugi's face flushed even darker, but he smiled at Yami. "Bye, Mou Hitori. I..." He seemed to hesitate. "I love you."

Yami returned the smile. "I love you too."

* * *

Ryou slowly opened his eyes as the bell rang.

He looked around. He was curled up next to Bakura in his bed, so his boyfriend hadn't gotten locked out again.

And he could hear Marik snoring in the spare room, and he only slept when Malik was with him, so they were both there.

He knew Akane and Takato had left; it was the only reason they were back in the house. She had taken money from his bank account and booked two seats on the next flight to Vegas. Again.

Maybe he was just imagining it?

Yeah. Yeah, that was it. He closed his eyes, nuzzling closer to Bakura. He had probably woken up from a dream just as someone had rung a doorbell in it.

There. Explained, and he didn't have to get-

The bell rang again.

He groaned and sat up rubbing one eye. Scratch that theory.

He grabbed his dressing robe and pulled it on over his pyjamas before slowly making his way downstairs.

He reached the door just as the bell rang again.

He glanced at the clock. Three forty seven.

The bell rang again. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he yawned. "Jeez... If you're coming this early, at least wait a few minutes..."

He unlocked the door and pulled it open, turning on the porch light.

The person standing on his doorstep was... odd.

He reminded him a bit of a cross between Marik and Bakura.

He had skin the colour of dried clay, and silvery hair that reached his chin. His grey gaze – or was it more periwinkle? – met Ryou's, giving him full view of the long scar that ran through his right eye. Ryou suspected that he was blind in at least that eye.

His clothes were the oddest part of him. A long, red robe with a golden hem, a white shirt and a deep blue shenti with Nike runners.

It looked as though he had literally grabbed the first four items of clothes he could find in his closet and thrown them on.

"Can I help you?" Ryou asked with another yawn.

"Yes," he responded. "My name's Akefia Touzoku. Is Bakura here?"


	17. Chapter 17

**CW: Character death, death sentence, mentions of massacre, blinding**

* * *

The apartment was dingy – at best.

The originally purple walls were yellowing, and the carpet was a mix between muddy brown and bile green. The beds – two twin beds that had been pushed together to make a double – had ominous stains on the mattresses.

The television was a stocky, grey box and the only channel it seemed to have was constant static.

There was a rickety bedside table with a magazine from 2010 on it. Inside was a faded copy of The Bible and two condoms.

The only redeeming part of the room was the black and white tiled bathroom, and that was ruined by the filth of the shower and the bugs crawling along the walls.

Heru sat on the edge of the bed, gripping an open notebook tightly. His tanned knuckles were on the verge of turning white from his grip.

Three indistinguishable words were written on the paper, and although he kept the pen pressed to the page, Heru didn't write anything else.

Every few minutes, he would look up at the door, and finally, he heard someone knock.

His eyes lit up as he leapt off the bed.

He was already at the door before his expression grew guarded. "Akefia?"

He heard someone snort on the other side of the door. "Who else would walk up three flights of stairs because of the broken elevator in this shithole and knock on your door specifically?"

Heru grinned and yanked open the door.

Before Akefia knew what was happening, Heru had thrown his arms around his neck.

Akefia chuckled and returned the hug tightly. "So no one came into the room to stab you?" He teased, though he stroked Heru's tame silver hair.

"Shut up," Heru muttered into the crook of Akefia's neck. "You know I'm-"

"Used to marble floors and silken robes?"

Heru pulled back – just enough to scowl at Akefia. "I was going to say that I'm not used to Japan."

Akefia snickered. "I know. I just like teasing you."

Heru rolled his eyes and walked back into the apartment with Akefia following him. "So how'd it go?" Heru asked as he sat on the bed.

The mattress sagged under him, despite his light weight.

Akefia scratched the top of his head. "It was a bit weird." Heru raised an eyebrow. "Someone opened the door, shoved a pillow in my face, called me 'Mar-Kura', told me to go back to bed and closed the door again. Without letting me inside."

Heru stared at him for a moment. "Are you sure that's what they said? Your Japanese could still use some work."

Akefia nodded. "I'm sure."

Heru covered his mouth to hide a giggle. "Well that's what you get for showing up at a house in the middle of the night."

Akefia huffed and leaned against the wall. "So sue me; I want to see my little brother again."

Heru sighed. "I know you do. But you need to take the time difference into consideration."

"It's only ten."

Heru shot him a look. "Akefia, in Japan it's five in the morning. It's a seven hour time difference. Your brother won't even be awake yet."

"Well I know that now," Akefia grumbled before looking Heru over. "You changed."

When they had arrived at the motel, Heru had been wearing the white, silken robes and gold-threaded leather sandals that the Kosey family always wore.

Since Akefia had left, he had traded the traditional garb for black skinny jeans, a grey t-shirt with a panther on it, black sneakers and a black and white sweatband on his right arm.

Heru looked down at himself and shrugged. "The robes were making me draw too much attention to myself, so I changed our money into yen and did a bit of shopping." He pulled a bag out from the side of the bed and offered it to Akefia. "I bought you some things too."

Akefia frowned. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

Heru hesitated. "Nothing. It's just… not very Japanese. Or even modern Egyptian"

Akefia's frown morphed into a scowl. "It's not meant to be."

Heru gestured to the bag. "Well you need to blend in a bit more."

Akefia looked away, gripping the sides of his scarlet robe.

Heru's gaze softened. "You don't need to throw away your father's robe, 'Kef. You can still wear that one if you want. I just thought it might be easier to get around this way."

Akefia sighed. "I know." He waited for a moment before taking off the robe and carefully folding it. "You're right."

Heru stopped him. "You don't need to change yet. I just meant before we leave." He gave Akefia a small smile. "But you might want to sleep before we go."

Akefia paused, his nose crinkling. "What was the time difference again?"

"Seven hours."

"Fuck…"

* * *

"It's the nineteenth."

Yami wasn't sure why he said it.

Neither was Yugi by the looks of it.

He paused, in the midst of picking up a card to add to his hand. He slowly set his hand down on the table. "So…"

"So his execution's in two days."

Yugi was silent for a few minutes. His gaze was on the bed.

It had been one of his better days; Yami wasn't sure why he brought it up.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Yugi mumbled. "You were right to tell me. If you didn't, I would have been mad when I found out."

Yami nodded, but Yugi still didn't raise his gaze from the paisley bedspread.

Ninety seven days.

Yami had counted them all.

Ninety seven days since that day in court.

Ninety seven days since Aknadin had been put on death row.

Ninety seven days since Aknadin had bribed his attorney to sneak in a gun not made of metal so it wouldn't be detected by the metal detectors.

Ninety seven days since that bastard had shot Yugi.

And only two more days until he was going to die.

Yugi's eyes slipped closed. He looked tired; very tired. More tired than he had been in a few days.

His stats were very unstable. Some days he'd laugh and talk, and some days he would stay quiet. Some days he'd want to laugh, and some days he'd let Yami do the laughing for him.

Some days he'd smile at his boyfriend, and some days he'd just lie there and watch him, taking in everything that happened but not reacting to any of it.

They hadn't found a donor for him yet, and none of Yugi's friends had the same blood type as him.

Seto was working over in Germany to find a donor as well, despite Yugi's protests. Seto – no, everyone – had enough to deal with without worrying about Yugi as well; that was Yugi's reasoning.

The doctors still weren't sure whether or not he'd live.

But that day had been good.

That week had been great; Yugi had been in a better mood than Yami had seen him in since he entered the hospital.

And Yami had to go and ruin it.

"I'm not going," Yugi mumbled, closing his eyes.

"You can't anyway," Yami pointed out with a soft smile. "You can't leave yet."

"I don't want to see it."

"You don't have to,  _aibou_." Yami reached out and cupped Yugi's cheek.

Yugi opened his eyes again and met Yami's gaze.

Yami smiled and caressed Yugi's cheek with his thumb. "It's okay."

Yugi swallowed. "I hate this," he whispered.

"I know."

"I hate him."

"I know."

Yugi clenched his fists. "But I still don't want him to die."

Yami stayed silent though he nodded.

"And I hate it so much." Yugi gritted his teeth. "And I hate what he's done, and I hate him, and I hate how much he's hurt everyone, and I-I hate  _him_ , but…" He sniffed. "But no human deserves to take another's life."

Yami nodded again and gently wrapped his arms around Yugi. "I know,  _aibou,"_ he whispered, kissing his forehead. "I know."

Yugi closed his eyes and nuzzled against Yami's chest. "I don't need to watch, do I?" Yami shook his head. "Even on the news?"

"I'd sooner set the TV on fire than let you see it if you don't want to," Yami assured him with a grin.

Yugi giggled slightly and smiled up at him. "Thanks, Mou Hitori." He leaned up and pecked Yami's lips.

Yami didn't even blink. Yugi's kisses and touches didn't trigger him the way the same kisses and touches would if it was anyone else.

"Come on." Yugi picked up his hand again. "I want to get back to kicking your ass."

"Excuse me?" Yami laughed, setting down an ace and a ten. Twenty one. "I believe I'm kicking your ass."

Yugi smirked and he set down two aces and a ten. Twenty one. "Oh really?"

Yami narrowed his eyes. "It's a tie. Doesn't count."

Yugi's smirk grew. "I dealt."

"So?" Yami raised an eyebrow.

Yugi laughed and leaned over to kiss Yami's cheek. "Don't you ever play card games aside from Duel Monsters? The dealer always wins."

* * *

Even as he stared at Akefia, Bakura's face was blank. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

Akefia hesitated. His younger brother was taller than him now, by about two inches. His glare was harsh, and his tone was as sharp as a scalpel.

 _This isn't a good idea_. Despite the eleven, nearly twelve years he had spent looking for Bakura, now that he was in front of him, Akefia was having second thoughts.

Heru's grip on his hand tightened in a reassuring squeeze and he swallowed. "I'm… Akefia."

Bakura's eyes narrowed and he folded his arms, leaning against the doorframe. "Bullshit."

Akefia raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I said bullshit."

"Kura!" The boy that had called Akefia 'Mar-Kura' the previous night elbowed Bakura and smiled at Akefia and Heru. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Ryou. Would you like to come in for some tea or-"

"That won't be necessary, Ryou." Bakura turned away from the two. "They were just leaving."

"No, actually," Heru cut in, "we weren't." He smiled at Ryou. "Tea sounds great."

Ryou nodded and lead them into the house, despite Bakura's glares. Bakura followed the group a few paces behind Heru the whole time.

When they reached the living room, he refused to sit. He stood, leaning against the wall again.

When Ryou scurried out of the room to put on the kettle, he glared at Akefia again. "Who are you and what do you want?"

Akefia smiled feebly. "Is it a sin to want to see my brother?"

"You're not my brother," Bakura snapped instantly. "I don't have a brother."

"Really?" Akefia stood again. "Are you so sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." Bakura narrowed his eyes further.

"How?"

"Because my brother's dead!" Bakura slammed his fist into a wall. "He was killed in a massacre! He's  _dead_!"

Akefia could feel his scar itching. It always did when he thought of the massacre. "No, I'm not."

Bakura growled and lunged at him, tackling him to the floor.

"Guys, stop!" Akefia heard Heru yell, and he could feel hands trying to pull him away as he grappled with Bakura.

"Bakura!" Ryou was back in the room now, trying to help Heru pull them apart. "Bakura, get off him!"

"Not until he admits he's lying!" Bakura yelled, trying to get Akefia into a headlock.

Akefia growled and rolled them over so that he was on top of Bakura, pinning his brother's wrists to the ground. "I'm not lying!" He felt Heru trying to pull him off, so he reluctantly stood up. "Bakura, I'm your brother!"

"No you're not!" Bakura strained against Ryou's one armed hold.

Ryou winced and added his other arm. "Bakura, please…"

Bakura reluctantly stopped when he saw how Ryou was holding him. "Sorry, Ry."

For the first time, Akefia noticed the wooden hand attached to Ryou's arm. Bakura followed his gaze and glared at him, as though daring him to mention it.

Akefia stayed silent.

"Honestly, can't you two just talk about this?" Heru sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Talk about what? How he's impersonating my dead brother?" Bakura snarled.

"I'm not dead."

"Yes, I can bloody well see that for myself!" Bakura snapped, turning to glare at him. "But  _he_  is!"

"Why are you so sure that your brother's dead?" Akefia shook his head. He didn't think Bakura would have given up on him.

"Because he told me!"

Akefia didn't need to ask what 'he' Bakura was talking about. 'He' had been all over the news for the past few months.

Aknadin.

"He lied."

"And how would you know?"

"He tried to kill me." Akefia ran a finger down his scar. "But he missed. He partially blinded me though. I can't see out of this eye anymore."

Bakura scowled, but stayed silent.

"I'm not dead, Bakura." Akefia took a step forward. He took another when Bakura didn't back away.

Bakura swallowed audibly. "Yes you- he is," he whispered, but his voice shook. "He killed you- him."

Akefia shook his head. "No he didn't." He took the final step and reached out.

Bakura flinched but didn't step back as Akefia cupped his cheek. Akefia smiled softly as he gently rubbed Bakura's cheek with his thumb and began singing a lullaby their mother used to sing.

Bakura's eyes widened as the Arabic lyrics rolled from Akefia's tongue. He only managed to sing a line or two; he didn't remember many of the lyrics.

But he managed to hum until the verse ended.

Silence hung in the air; heavy after the soft melody.

No one moved. Heru and Ryou watched their partners, both waiting for Bakura to start screaming again.

But then Bakura's arms were thrown around Akefia, and Akefia was holding him close as he buried his head in his shoulder.

"You were dead," he whispered. "He said you were dead."

Akefia held him closer. "I know." He brushed Bakura's bangs away from his forehead and kissed it. "But I'm not dead anymore."

"Die on me again and I'll kick your ass."

Despite the situation, Akefia chuckled. "I don't doubt it."

He and Bakura pulled away after a few minutes to see Heru and Ryou walking into the room with mugs of tea. Heru was carrying three, despite Ryou's protests. "When did you two leave?"

"About five minutes ago," Heru replied, placing the mugs on the table. "You were too caught up in your reunion to notice."

Ryou smiled softly at them as the two brothers scowled at Heru. "I thought it was sweet."

Heru gagged. "I'm not one for that touchy-feely crap."

"You're not one for putting a filter on your words either, are you?" Bakura sneered.

"Not at all." Heru grinned at him. "And you should get used to it, because we're not leaving anytime soon."

* * *

"Hello; Ishtar residence, Ishizu speaking. How can I help you?"

Silence.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Malik hesitated. He couldn't do this. This was a horrible, horrible idea.

"Hello?"

Maybe he should just say 'wrong number' and hang up? No, Ishizu would recognise his voice.

He could always just say nothing until she hung up.

"I have caller ID and unless I hear you speak and identify yourself, I will call the police."

Malik nearly cursed. When had Ishizu learned about caller ID?

He cleared his throat. "Ishizu."

"Yes?" Her response was clipped. She was distracted, then. She always had a very short response while working.

He had probably caught her on a museum-related project again.

He heard nothing but silence for a moment. Then a slight  _click_ , as though she had set something down. "Malik. It's good to hear from you."

It didn't sound as though she believed what she was saying, but Malik went along with it.

"You too, Ishizu."

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"

Malik shrugged, leaning against the wall of the landing. "Don't I get to call my sister if I miss her?"

He was on his own. Somewhat.

Marik was there, but he was watching something. Ryou, Bakura and two others had gone off earlier that day though.

"Is this to do with the execution?"

Malik's eyes slipped closed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"If you say so." Ishizu's tone was clipped again. "I don't understand how you're okay with this going ahead."

"He deserves it."

"Does he really?" Malik could almost see Ishizu raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "Could he not have been punished instead? Placed in prison, perhaps?"

Malik shook his head. "Sister, sometimes death is a kinder option than prison."

Ishizu clicked her tongue. "If you say so." She really had no idea. "So what is it you wanted to talk about if not that?"

Malik swallowed. This was such a bad idea. Who had talked him into this again?

Oh, that's right. His conscience.

Well his conscience was going to die for this, and he wasn't paying for the funeral.

"I was… thinking about coming back," he said. "For a visit."

He could hear the  _click, click, click, tap_  of keys from a keyboard in the background.

Not Ishizu's; she never used them. But if he could hear it, that meant she had set the phone down on the table to write.

Sure enough, her voice sounded farther away. "Really?" She was just as clipped. "And would your- would  _he_ be accompanying you?"

Malik bristled. "Yes. My boyfriend, Marik, would be coming with me," he said firmly.

"And your attire?" Again, he could almost see the eyebrow quirk. Not in an inquisitive way anymore; in a judgemental one.

"I'll be wearing clothes of some kind."

"Yes, but what kind of clothes?"

"The kind that covers you."

"Malik…" Ishizu's tone was warning now.

"I'll be wearing a dress, sister. Maybe a skirt and a t-shirt."

Again, Ishizu clicked her tongue. The click was longer this time; or maybe it was the build up to the inevitable click.

"I see."

Malik swallowed. "So… what do you think?"

"I'm busy."

"Well, I didn't mean today. I meant in the next week or tw-"

"I'm busy," Ishizu repeated firmly. "And I always will be as long as you continue to disregard the morals you were brought up with."

Anger bubbled up in Malik. " _What_?"

"I refuse to have you in my house unless you are dressed in the proper, befitting garb, and unless you leave that murderer at home."

"It was manslaughter, Ishizu. He didn't mean to kill him!" Malik insisted.

"Manslaughter is only a subcategory of murder." He heard another  _click_ , and Ishizu's voice was closer again. "You know my conditions, brother. Abide by them and you can return home."

The anger threatened to wash over Malik and leave him devoid of any other emotion. But without warning, it faded into calmness.

"Fine." His voice was just as cool and just as clipped as Ishizu's. "I guess I won't be coming back then."

"You can return, brother; just as soon as you-"

"Don't call me 'brother'," Malik cut her off. "I'm not part of that family anymore." He shook his head. "Tell Odion I said hi," he muttered as he hung up.

He stared at the phone for a moment, resisting the urge to hurl it against the wall, before resting his forehead against the wall.

The anger was back, and the plaster was refreshingly cool against his flushed skin.

"Malik-pretty?"

Malik turned to see Marik watching him. "I thought you were watching  _SpongeBob_."

"I was," Marik said, stepping closer. "I heard you on the phone."

Malik looked away. "Don't ask," he mumbled.

"I wasn't going to." Marik wrapped his arms around Malik's waist.

Malik sighed and rested the side of his face against Marik's chest. "I'm fine."

"I didn't say you weren't." Marik held him closer.

"I can handle it." Malik nuzzled closer.

"I didn't say you couldn't." Marik kissed his temple.

Malik closed his eyes. "I don't have a family anymore," he mumbled.

Marik's arms tightened around him. Malik knew he didn't need to explain.

If Marik hadn't heard that part of the conversation, he would have asked.

"You have Ryou and Yugi," Marik said after a minute. "And Duke, Tristan, Joey, and Anzu. Hell, you've even got Yami, Seto, and Bakura." He rested his forehead against Malik's. "And you've got me."

Malik bit his lip to force the lump in his throat back. "It still hurts…"

"I know." Marik kissed his nose. "I know."

"I want it to stop." Malik closed his eyes.

"It won't," Marik said softly. "But it'll get easier. And maybe one day, they'll be lucky enough to call you their brother again." He kissed Malik's forehead, eyes, nose, cheekbones, and finally, lips.

Malik slowly opened his eyes. "You think so?"

Marik shrugged. "I don't know. If you decide they're worth it, then they'll be lucky. If you don't, then you won't have done anything wrong and they'll need to deal with that."

Malik nuzzled against him. "Thanks, Mar."

Marik cupped Malik's cheek, guiding Malik's head up so that Malik was meeting his gaze again. He leaned down and murmured against Malik's lips, "Anytime."

* * *

Yugi had ignored it when he heard Tristan's stomach growl.

He had ignored it when Marik had winced due to stomach cramps.

He had even ignored it when he heard Duke mumbling about food in his sleep.

But he couldn't ignore it when Tristan mumbled to Anzu about her flight back to America.

"Okay, everyone out!"

They all stared at him. "Yugi-"

"Nope." Yugi shook his head. "Everyone out. Get out. Anzu, go get the taxi to the airport before you miss your flight. Everyone else, go and get something to eat."

Everyone hesitated; Yugi could see reluctance in their eyes.

He sighed. "Look, I'm not going to die just because you guys leave the room. I'll be fine."

Ryou was the first to speak. "Yugi, the doctor said-"

"I know what he said, but I'm telling you I'm not going to die because you guys spend half an hour getting food." Yugi narrowed his eyes. "Now go."

The group exchanged glances before slowly standing up and leaving the room. Anzu gave Yugi a final, tight hug before scurrying out to her taxi while the others made their way to the cafeteria.

"Think he'll be okay while we're gone?" Malik mumbled.

Duke nodded, grabbing a tray. "I think so. He's stronger than he looks."

"Still…" Ryou's gaze was downcast.

Tristan shook his head. "He's survived this long. He won't give up yet."

"What the fuck?" Marik scowled.

"Well it's true-"

"Not that, idiot. The fucking engagement ring you're wearing."

Everyone paused and looked at Tristan's ring finger, and then at Duke's.

Ryou's eyes lit up. "You guys are getting married?"

Malik snickered. "You guys are getting married?"

"No!" Tristan glared at Marik. "Well, maybe eventually. But not yet."

"Then what's with the bloody engagement rings?" Bakura raised an eyebrow. "You don't just buy an engagement ring because you think it looks nice."

Duke looked away as Tristan shrugged. "They're promise rings."

Marik and Bakura were silent for a grand total of seven and a half seconds before they burst into laughter.

"That is the dumbest shit I've ever heard of," Marik laughed, ignoring the half-hearted warning look Malik gave him. "If you're going to ask someone to marry you, do it properly."

"Exactly," Bakura snickered. "Don't promise to promise to marry them. That's the easy way out."

Duke rolled his eyes at them. "Shut up. You guys are-"

"Jealous because  _we're_  not engaged to be engaged?" Marik snorted. "Sure."

Duke shrugged. "You said it. Not me."

"Guys, knock it off!" Ryou groaned. "We're in a hospital cafeteria. This is  _not_  the place to argue."

"Exactly." Tristan took Duke's hand and led him towards the line. "And we're taking all the deserts!"

"In hell you are!" Malik called, chasing after them.

Ryou shot Bakura and Marik a look before following the three. Bakura nudged his younger brother as they followed. "Engaged to be engaged."

Marik snickered, shaking his head. "Dumbest shit I've ever heard of."

* * *

"Abolish the death penalty!"

"God will judge you for this decision!"

"Murder is murder, no matter the cause!"

Akefia did his best to ignore the mob of protestors and reporters swarming him as he shoved his way to the building.

Heru clung to the back of his red hoodie, scared to get washed away in the crowd of people.

The microphones and signs thrust into his face were growing harder to ignore.

"You will be judged!"

"Murderers!"

"No one deserves death!"

He just had to make it to the building. If he did, he would be fine.

If he did, it would be over.

He felt Heru take his hand and squeeze it. He squeezed Heru's hand in return, only to almost smack into a microphone.

"Mr. Touzoku, how do you feel knowing that you're murdering an innocent man?"

Innocent?

"Akefia, don't."

Akefia barely even heard Heru as he turned to face the reporter. "Innocent?" He sneered. "You call him innocent?"

Finally, he spoke. The yelling began to die down.

"His case was only won because of speculation." The microphone was back in his face again.

Akefia growled, fists clenching. "A massacre of an entire village is speculation? What, did someone change the meaning of the word in the dictionary while I wasn't looking?"

"Akefia, come on," Heru pleaded. "We're almost there."

"Hang on, Heru." Akefia glared at the reporter. "I just want to know how the fuck this guy seems to believe that Aknadin is innocent. How any of them do!"

"You really believe that in this day and age, someone would be able to lock three boys up in an attack and abuse them daily without someone finding out?" The reporter asked. He wasn't with the news then. Well, maybe Fox.

"Well, he managed it," Akefia growled. "Just like he managed to orchestrate the mass homicide of Kul Elna."

"That massacre was a myth-"

"I was fucking there for it!" Akefia shrieked.

The crowd had fallen completely silent. Even the reporter seemed to be struggling to find words.

"He also managed to murder Atem and Heba Mutou without anyone realising it, didn't he?" Akefia snapped. "He managed to sneak a gun into court and shoot someone!"

"That was due to a corrupt cop."

"No, it was due to his fucking attorney and bad security!" Akefia snarled. "You know how he did it? He got a Glock, bribed his attorney to hide it in the cistern in the bathroom, and because it wasn't metal, it didn't come up on the detectors. How the fuck would he bribe a cop to give him a gun when the cop would know that they'd go to jail for it for years?"

Heru tugged at his hand slightly. "Akefia, come on."

"You take the word of a brother you haven't seen in years on this?" The reporter asked. "You only met him again recently, right?"

Akefia was close – so very, very close – to grabbing his microphone and shoving it down his throat.

"Yes, I do. I'd rather take his word over some sleazy reporters," he snapped, turning away. "Now buzz off!"

"Touzoku's a murderer, just like Aknadin!"

If it wasn't for Heru's tight grip on his hand, Akefia would have lunged at the protestor.

But Heru's grip stayed firm and he led Akefia into the building.

Once they were through security and the screams and yells had faded into the background, Heru wrapped his arms around Akefia. "Ignore them," he murmured. "They don't know what they're talking about."

Akefia returned the hug, burying his head in Heru's shoulder. "I know," he whispered. "I just hate them so much…"

"They don't know any better."

"Well they should."

Heru sighed softly. "Yeah. I know."

They stood there for a few minutes before Akefia pulled away. "We should go inside…"

Heru continued to hold him. "I know you want this to end, but I also know it hurts." Akefia looked away from him. "It's okay to feel like that, Kefie."

"Then why doesn't it feel like it is?" Akefia muttered.

Heru shook his head. "Because your head is a dick." Akefia cracked a smile. Heru leaned up. "It's nearly over."

Akefia nodded. "I know…"

Heru pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I love you."

"I love you too, Akhu."

* * *

Bakura stared at the building, a knot forming in his stomach.

His brother and Heru were already inside; they had text him to let him know that there was a mob of liberal protestors outside.

He honestly wasn't surprised. If it hadn't been Aknadin, he might have been holding the, 'murder is murder, no matter the cause,' signs with them.

But it was Aknadin.

It was all about to end.

Bakura reached for Ryou's hand and squeezed it. "I'm scared," he whispered.

Ryou looked up at him. "It'll be okay, Kura," he murmured. "It's nearly over."

Aside from Akefia and Heru, they were the only ones from the group that showed up.

Marik hadn't because of the protestors, and Malik had wanted to stay with him.

Neither Duke nor Tristan wanted to watch someone die. Anzu was on her way over to America, and Joey and Seto were back in Germany, having come over to spend the weekend with Yugi.

"I know," Bakura whispered.

They had decided to go in the back door; Akefia had said he would open it for them. It was the easiest way to avoid the protestors.

They quickly made their way to the back of the building. The fire escape was waiting, already open. The two walked inside and into the theatre-like area after closing the door behind them.

Just in case.

They had come as late as possible; neither of them wanted to wait.

They just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

Akefia and Heru were easy to spot, but the seats around them were taken.

Akefia stood up as though to walk over to Bakura, but the younger of the brothers shook his head.

He knew Akefia would need Heru.

He looked to the glass. He could see Aknadin strapped down into the chair.

Leather cuffs held him by his wrists, ankles, thighs, upper arms and chest.

The needle was already filled.

Bakura's eyes locked with Aknadin's through the glass as the needle was held to his arm.

No fear. No resignation. No regret.

Just amusement.

Bakura looked away, his skin crawling as the needle was inserted. He could almost feel the liquid being pumped into Aknadin's blood stream.

Ryou gently pulled him closer, and Bakura buried his head in his boyfriend's shoulder.

Ryou rubbed his back with his good hand the whole time. Finally, he pulled back slightly.

Bakura met his gaze and Ryou pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

No words passed between them, despite the murmurs of the small crowd.

The curtains had been closed.

* * *

Despite insisting that he didn't want to see Aknadin's death, Yugi had quietly requested for Yami to turn on the news.

Today was the worst Yami had seen him.

He didn't blame him; it was the worst Yami had seen everyone.

Reporters were flocking the building that Aknadin would receive the lethal injection in.

Cameras flashed in Heru and Akefia's faces as Akefia screamed at the crowd. Judging by the lack of their presence, Yami suspected Ryou and Bakura had crept around the back.

Smart.

Their faces all came up. Yami's, Yugi's, Bakura's, Ryou's, Marik's, Malik's and Aknadin's.

An old photo of Heba and Atem popped up for a few seconds as well.

There was a timer on the side of the screen. As it drew closer to zero, the camera switched to the room.

Now Yami could see Bakura and Ryou. Bakura looked like he was about to faint.

He felt Yugi bury his head in his chest. Yami gently wrapped an arm around him, using his free hand to stroke his boyfriend's hair.

Five.

It was almost over.

Four.

Nearly there.

Three.

All the pain.

Two.

All the heartache.

One.

It was finally…

Zero.

"It's over."

Yami's voice was no louder than a whisper.

He could hear the news reporter announcing the successful and quick execution of Aknadin Sennen.

He turned off the television as the camera switched back to the protestors. He didn't need to see any more.

Neither of them did.

Yugi still had yet to move his head.

"Aibou?"

It took Yugi a few moments to react, but he raised his head. "Y-yeah?"

"It's over."

Yugi's face was pale and his breathing was a bit ragged. He nodded. "I know," he whispered. His eyes slipped closed.

"Do you want a nap?" Yami asked softly.

Yugi nodded. "Yeah," he mumbled.

Yami stood up to get a nurse; one always had to check Yugi's vitals before, during and after he slept.

"Mou Hitori, wait."

Yami turned back to see Yugi weakly raising a hand. Yami quickly took it, alleviating the weight from Yugi. "Yes, aibou?"

Yugi smiled softly at him. "I love you," he whispered.

Yami returned the smile and leaned down to kiss him. "I love you too," he murmured against his lips.

After a moment, he pulled away. "Do you want some water too?"

Yugi shook his head slowly. "I don't need it," he mumbled.

Yami nodded. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Yugi smiled softly and nodded, watching as Yami left the room.

He lay back, sinking into the pillows. It was over. It was all over.

He let out a slow, long breath. He could finally let go.

A dull, resounding beep echoed through the room as his eyes slipped closed and he let out one, final breath.

It was over.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it, please review.


End file.
